OXFORD 

ledge,  but  being  brought  up  in  the  convent  their 
sympathy  and  gratitude  would  be  entirely  with 
their  benefactors.  Nevertheless,  as  time  went  on 
and  a  thirst  for  knowledge  of  letters  increased,  this 
introduction  of  novices  became  the  thin  end  of 
the  wedge  to  the  downfall  of  the  monastic  power, 
which  was  consummated  by  Henry  VIII.  in  the 
year  1525. 

On  the  site  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Frideswide 
Cardinal  Wolsey  founded  a  college,  then  named 
Cardinal  College,  but  now  known  as  Christ  Church. 
On  the  disgrace  of  this  famous  prelate,  Henry  VIII. 
completed  the  establishment,  under  the  name  of 
Henry  the  Eighth's  College.  It  is  necessary  to 
make  this  slight  mention  of  the  college,  for  no 
doubt  its  great  accommodation  influenced  the 
removal  of  the  episcopal  see  from  Osney,  and  con- 
stituted the  elevation  of  the  Church  of  St.  Fride- 
swide into  a  cathedral.  This  removal  necessitated 
the  change  of  name  to  Christ  Church,  under  which 
is  comprised  the  sacred  edifice  and  college.  This 
has  given  rise  to  a  unique  position.  The  Cathe- 
dral is  not  only  a  cathedral  of  the  city,  but  is  a 
noble  and  immense  chapel  of  the  college,  and  the 
Dean  occupies  the  singular  position  not  only  as 
the  Dean  of  the  church  but  also  as  the  Dean  of 
the  collesre. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


II«IDnDTeRS'l^°<'KSci.,.e<,5 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 


OF 


ENGLAND 


CAN'l'ERBL'RY 

THK     IIAI'IISIKKY     AND     CHAI'llR     HOUSE 


CATHEDRAL  CITIES 


OF 


ENGLAND 


BY 


GEORGE    GILBERT 


ILLUSTRATED    BY   W.  W.  COLLINS,  R.I. 


NEW    YORK 
DODD,  MEAD  AND    COMPANY 

1908 


Copyright,   rgoj 
By  Dodd,   Mead  and  Company 

Published  October,   1905 


THF,    UNIVERSITY    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE,    U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 

Introductory P<igt     3 

Canterbury ,,        17 

Durham ,,       37 

Lichfield ,,       58 

Oxford ,,       65 

Peterborough ,,       80 

St.  Albans ,,       91 

Wells ,,      102 

Worcester ,,     118 

Chichester ,,129 

Chester >>      '39 

Rochester ,,162 

RiPON ,,174 

Ely" ,,183 

Gloucester ,,     202 

Hereford ,,224 

Lincoln ,,235 

Bath ,,     259 

Salisbury ,,270 

Exeter ,,      292 

Norwich >>     3^5 

London >>     337 

York 37i 

Winchester ,,     397 

Westminster ,,414 


ivi313984 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Canterbury,  The  Baptistery  and  Chapter  House    ....   Frontispiece 

„           from  the  Meadows P'^ge     19 

,,           Christchurch  Gateway ,,       23 

,,           Cathedral,  Interior  of  the  Nave ,,       27 

,,           The  Norman  Stairway ,,       33 

Durham,  Framwellgate  Bridge „       39 

„        from  the  Railway „       43 

,,        Interior  of  Cathedral,    looking   across   the    Nave 

into  South  Transept „       47 

„        Elvet  Bridge „       51 

,,        Cathedral,  the  Western  Towers ,,       55 

Lichfield  Cathedral.      The  West  Front ,,       61 

Oxford.      Christ  Church,  Interior  of  Nave ,,       69 

>f             Gateway »>       75 

Peterborough  Cathedral.      The  West  Front ,,       83 

,,             The  Market  Place ,,87 

St.  Albans.     The  Cathedral  from  the  Walls  of  Old  Verulam  „       95 

Wells  Cathedral  and  the  Pools >,     103 

,,    The  Cathedral  from  the  Fields ,,107 

,,     The  Ruins  of  the  Banqueting  Hall ,,113 

Worcester.     The  Cathedral ,,123 

Chichester  Cathedral  from  the  North- East »>     ^33 

Chester.      East  Gate  Street ,,141 

„         The  Rows ,,145 

„          St.  Werburgh  Street ,,151 

„          Bishop   Lloyd's  Palace  and  Watergate  Street     .  ,»     I57 

Rochester.      The  Cathedral  and  Castle >,     167 

Ripon.     The  Cathedral »»     ^77 


Vll 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ely  Cathedral.      The  West  Front Page  iSs 


,,    The  Market  Place 

,,  Cathedral,  Interior  of  Nave 

,,  from  the  Fens 

Gloucester  Cathedral.      Interior  of  the  Nave  . 

„  The  Old  Parliament  House  and  Cathedral 

,,  Cathedral  from  the  Paddock      .... 

Hereford  Cathedral.      The  North  Transept    .      .      . 

Lincoln  Cathedral  by  Moonlight 

,,        The  Steep  Hill 

,,        Cathedral.      The  West  Towers    .... 

Bath.      Pulteney  Bridge 

Salisbury.      High  Street  Gateway  into  the  Close  . 

,,  The  Market  Cross 

,,  The  Cloisters 

,,  The  Cathedral 

Exeter  Cathedral  from  the  Palace  Gardens 

,,       Mol's  Coffee  Tavern 

,,       Cathedral.      Interior  of  the  Nave  .      ,      .      . 

Norwich.      The  Market  Place 

The  ^thelbert  Gate 

,,  The  Cathedral  from  the  North-East      . 

St.  Paul's  and  Ludgate  Hill 

York.      Stonegate 

,,        The  Shambles 

,,        Bootham  Bar 

„        Monk  Bar 

,,        Micklegate  Bar 

Winchester  Cathedral.      The  North  Aisle       .      .      . 

,,  from  St.  Catherine's  Hill 

,,  The  Cathedral  from  the  Deanery  Garden 

,,  St.  Cross 

Westminster  Abbey.     The  North  Transept  .     .     . 


189 

193 

197 
205 

21  I 
217 
229 

245 
251 
263 

273 
277 
281 
287 
295 
301 
309 
319 
325 
331 

353 
373 
377 
383 
387 
391 
399 
403 
407 
411 
419 


•  •• 

VIH 


CATHEDRAL   CITIES  OF  ENGLAND 


3fntrotiuttor|> 

IN  the  following  accounts  of  the  Cathedral 
Cities  of  England,  technical  architectural 
terms  will  necessarily  appear,  and  to  the 
end  that  they  should  be  comprehensive,  I  give 
here  a  slight  sketch  of  the  origin  of  the  various 
forms,  and  the  reasons  for  their  naming,  together 
with  dates;  and  to  the  end  that  I  may  supply  a 
glossary  of  easy  reference,  I  place  as  side  headings 
in  this  introduction  the  various  expressions  which 
will  be  met  with  throughout  the  book. 

This,  I  hope,  may  relieve  the  reader  of  the 
tedium  of  having  to  turn  to  books  of  reference  at 
each  moment,  and  being  subjected  to  a  constant 
reiteration  of  the  terms,  which  must  necessarily 
be  frequently  employed. 

The  Cathedrals  of  England  may  be  said  to  com- 
prise illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon,  Gothic,  and 
Norman,  with  their  variations  and  combinations. 

Constantine,  a.  d.  306-337.  — Romanesque. — 
With  the  establishment  of  Christianity,  more 
especially  when   recognised   in    Rome  during  the 

[3]     . 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

time  of  Constantine,  arose  the  marvellous  develop- 
ment of  architecture,  founded  upon  the  basis  of 
classical  remains.  This  "  Romanesque,"  as  this 
period  of  architecture  came  to  be  called,  perme- 
ated later  the  whole  of  Western  Europe. 

Basilica.  —  Relieved  from  immediate  fear  of 
persecution,  the  Christian  architects  straightway- 
commenced  to  convert  the  "  basilica  "  remains  to 
suit  the  requirements  of  the  "  New  Faith."  The 
Basilica,  as  its  derivation  from  the  Greek  Baa-ikiKiq 
("the  royal  house")  implies,  "was  the  King's 
Bench"  of  the  Romans.  It  was  a  long  rectangular 
building,  with  sometimes  rows  of  columns  intro- 
duced to  divide  the  space  into  a  nave  and  aisles. 
One  end  terminated  in  an  "  apse,"  of  semi-circular 
formation,  where  the  judge  and  his  assessors  were 
accustomed  to  sit.  This  apse  the  Christians  util- 
ised as  a  chancel.  The  approach  to  the  building 
was  the  "  atrium,"  or  forecourt,  somewhat  similar 
to  the  English  Cathedral  cloister,  but  differently 
situated. 

A  chief  characteristic  of  the  Roman  buildings 
was  the  "  round  arch,"  mainly  composed  of  brick 
or  stone  work.  This  the  Romans  for  many  years 
had  used  more  in  a  decorative  way  than  for  utility, 
but  which  became  of  more  structural  significance 
in  the  hands  of  the  Christians. 

.[4] 


INTRODUCTORY 

Romanesque.  —  Sixth  to  Twelfth  Century.  —  In 
this  wise,  from  the  remains  of  the  Basilica,with  the 
further  development  of  the  "  round  arch  "  to  the 
"semi-circular  arch,"  the  Christian  Romans  grad- 
ually evolved  the  style  of  architecture  called  "  Ro- 
manesque," /.  e.y  in  the  Roman  Style.  This  style 
became  prevalent  throughout  Western  Europe 
from  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  to  the  close  of 
the  twelfth  century.  In  process  of  time  transepts 
were  added  and  the  choir  prolonged,  giving  the 
outline,  as  it  were,  of  a  cross,  the  Holy  Symbol  of 
Christianity. 

Anglo-Saxon.  —  500-1066.  —  Thus  Romanesque 
may  be  said  to  be  the  fountain-head  of  Anglo- 
Saxon,  Norman  Proper,  Anglo-Norman,  and 
Gothic  Architecture. 

During  the  Roman  occupation  of  England,  mis- 
sionaries came  to  her  from  Rome,  the  metropolis, 
and  made  converts,  as  they  did  in  other  countries, 
and  as  missionaries  do  nowadays  in  China  and 
elsewhere.  They  and  travelling  merchants  insen- 
sibly introduced  the  style  of  architecture  then 
prevalent  in  Italy,  namely,  the  Romanesque.  Ow- 
ing to  the  untutored  nature  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
their  first  attempts  at  imitating  what  would  appear 
to  them  entirely  new,  together  with  the  difficulty 
of  procuring  skilled  labour,  were  necessarily  crude. 

[5] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

These  first  attempts  may  justly  come  under  the 
heading  of  "  Anglo-Saxon." 

When  the  Campanile  or  tall  bell-towers  came 
into  existence  in  Italy,  England  imitated. 

Anglo-Norman. —  1066.  —  The  Normans,  at  the 
Conquest,  introduced  their  rendering  of  architec- 
ture, which  they  had  borrowed  from  the  Roman- 
esque, with  a  suspicion  of  Lombardic,  and  even 
Byzantine  styles  intermingled.  As  they  could  not 
entirely  at  first  uproot  the  local  peculiarities  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  treatment  of  style  which  they 
found  in  the  country,  they  in  a  way  grafted  the 
Norman  architecture  on  to  the  existing  style. 
Thus  it  came  to  be  called  "  Anglo-Norman." 
At  first  the  work  was  heavier  in  character  than 
the  Norman  proper,  but  it  became  lighter  towards 
the  close  of  the  twelfth  century. 

Norman  Peculiarities.  —  The  Norman  peculiar- 
ities were  the  building  of  the  church  on  a  cruci- 
form plan,  with  a  square  tower  placed  over  the 
transepts  where  they  cross  the  nave ;  the  massive 
cylindrical  nave  piers.  To  relieve  the  heaviness 
of  these  massive  nave  piers  and  doorways,  the 
chevron,  or  zigzag  pattern,  spiral  and  other  groov- 
ings  were  cut.  The  mouldings  were  of  the  same 
character  as  in  France,  but  towards  the  close  of 
the  twelfth  century  they  were  by  degrees  disused. 

[6] 


INTRODUCTORY 

In  the  transition  period,  ii  54-1 189,  the  dog- 
tooth ornament  appears,  and  occurs  in  combination 
with  the  "  billet,"  a  circular  roll  with  spaces  cut 
away  at  intervals,  as  at  Canterbury. 

The  Normans  also  greatly  employed  arcades, 
both  blank  and  open.  The  interlacing  of  arcades 
was  frequently  used  by  them.  They  were  formed 
by  semi-circular  arches,  intersecting  each  other 
regularly.  This  interlacing  is  supposed  by  many 
authorities  to  have  been  the  origin  of  the  "  pointed 
lancet  arch."  The  Norman  arcades  form  a  prom- 
inent feature  in  the  internal  and  external  decora- 
tion of  their  buildings.  The  internal  arrangement 
of  the  larger  churches  consisted  of  three  stages 
or  tiers.  The  ground  stage  carried  semi-circular 
arches,  above  that  came  the  triforium,  or  second 
stage  of  two  smaller  arches  supported  by  a  column, 
and  within  a  larger  arch.  Above  this  again,  came 
the  third  stage  or  clerestory,  with  two  or  more 
semi-circular  arches,  one  of  which  was  pierced  to 
admit  the  light. 

The  nave  was  usually  covered  by  a  flat  ceiling, 
and  not  vaulted.  The  crypts  and  aisles  were 
vaulted. 

The  doorways  appear  to  have  been  a  special 
feature  with  the  Normans,  for  they  were  generally 
very  richly  ornamented,  and  were  greatly  recessed. 

[7] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

The  windows  were  narrow  and  small  in  propor- 
tion to  the  rest  of  the  building.  At  a  late  period 
of  the  style  the  small  circular  windows  became 
greatly  enlarged,  and  it  became  necessary  to  divide 
up  the  space  by  the  introduction  of  slender 
columns  radiating  from  the  centre. 

In  England  the  semi-circular  apse,  towards  the 
close  of  the  style,  gradually  gave  place  to  the 
square  apse,  which  was  more  generally  adopted. 

Gothic.  —  Fourth  to  Twelfth  Century. —  Another 
great  and  early  factor  in  ecclesiastical  architecture 
is  the  Gothic.  In  the  early  stages  of  Christianity, 
the  Goths,  a  Teutonic  race,  dwelt  between  the 
Elbe  and  the  Vistula.  They  subverted  the  Rome 
Empire.  They,  like  other  countries,  received  the 
Christian  religion  from  Rome.  Each  country 
after  its  own  fashion  endeavoured  to  imitate  the 
architecture  of  Rome.  As  these  countries  were 
semi-barbarous  and  unpolished,  their  work  was 
necessarily  rude.  This,  in  conjunction  with  the 
invasions  of  Italy  by  the  Goths,  led  to  the  term 
"  Gothic.'*  This  period  commenced  in  the  fourth 
century,  and  was  entirely  changed  in  the  twelfth, 
by  the  introduction  of  the  pointed  arch. 

Gothic. —  1 145-1550. — This  marked  a  new 
era,  and  established  a  new  style  of  architecture,  the 
transition  from  the  Norman,  or  Romanesque,  to 

[8] 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  Mediaeval  Gothic.  Several  attempts  were 
made  to  introduce  new  names  in  lieu  of  Gothic, 
for  to  name  anything  Gothic  was  looked  upon 
with   askance. 


!Somane)8que 

Early  Gothic 

IVth  century  to  Xllth  century 

Anglo-Saxon 

.       .       .       500-1066  A.D. 

ANGLO-NORMAN 

William  I. 

.     .     1066. 

William  II.  . 

.     .     1087. 

Henry  I. 

.     .     1 100. 

Stephen    . 

.     .     1135. 

Henry  II. 

.     .     .      1 1 54-1 189.     Transition. 

EARLY   ENGLISH 

(first  pointed,  or  lancet) 

Richard  I.      .     .     .      11 89. 
John 1 199' 


COMPLETE,   OR   GEOMETRICAL   POINTED 
Edward  I.     .     .     .      1 272-1307.     Transition. 

DECORATED 

MIDDLE    POINTED,    OR    CURVILINEAR 

Edward  II.    .     .     .      1307. 
Edward  III.       .     .      1327-1377. 

[9] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 


PERPENDICULAR 

THIRD    POINTED,    OR    RECTILINEAR 


Richard  II.   .     . 

•     1377- 

Transition. 

Henry  IV.    .     .     . 

1399- 

Henry  V.      .     . 

1413- 

Henry  VI.    .     .     . 

1422. 

Edward  IV.       . 

1 46 1. 

Edward  V.    .     . 

1483. 

Richard  III.       .     . 

1483. 

Henry  VII.  .     . 
Henry  VIII.       . 

1485 

.     1509- 

f  Tudor  Period 
1547  ) 

With  the  close  of  the  Tudor  Period,  Mediasval 
Gothic  practically  died  out.  There  crept  in  then 
the  English  Renaissance,  followed  after  by  what  is 
called  "  The  Revival  of  Gothic  Architecture." 

ENGLISH    RENAISSANCE 

about 
The  Elizabethan,  or  First  Period        .     .      1547-1620. 
The  Anglo-Classic,  or  Second  Period      .      1 620-1 702. 
The  Anglo-Classic,  or  Third  Period  .     .      1 702-1 800. 
The  Revival  of  Gothic  Architecture  in 

England 1800. 


[10] 


CJ)ara(tertsttcs 

HNGLO-SAXON.  —  Anglo-Saxon  may  be 
briefly  summed  up  as  an  inferior  style  of 
Romanesque,  more  especially  the  latter 
part,  when  it  was  considered  necessary  to  build  in 
imitation  of  the  Roman  way.  In  the  early  years 
of  this  period  the  advantages  of  stone,  due  to  in- 
convenience of  its  carriage  or  lack  of  skill,  were 
not  widely  known  in  England.  For  the  most  part 
the  buildings  were  composed  of  wood  with  a 
thatched  roof.  Though  it  is  true  several  buildings 
were  also  constructed  of  stone,  and  glass  was  used, 
yet  it  was  only  with  advanced  knowledge,  intro- 
duced by  Continental  workmen,  who  came  over 
in  the  seventh  century,  that  architecture  ap- 
proached anything  like  a  definite  style. 

It  reached  this  stage  just  a  few  years  before  the 
Norman  Conquest.  The  arches  were  usually  plain, 
and  always  semi-circular.  The  columns  were 
cylindrical,  hexagonal,  or  octagonal,  and  thick  in 
proportion  to  their  height.  The  towers,  as  a  rule, 
were    square,    and    not   very    lofty.     They    were 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

strongly  but  crudely  worked,  strip  pilasters,  /.  f., 
slender  columns,  being  introduced.  Circular- 
headed  openings  served  as  upper  windows  of  these 
towers.  They  were  divided  into  two  lights  by 
rounded  balusters,  sometimes  with  caps  heavily 
projected. 

Norman.  —  The  Norman  churches  were  mostly 
cruciform  in  plan,  with  a  central  tower.  The  east 
end  was  frequently  terminated  by  an  apse.  Vast 
columns,  either  circular,  octagonal,  or  simply 
clustered,  separated  the  aisles  from  the  naves.  The 
arches  were  chiefly  semi-circular,  the  round  arch 
being  used  everywhere  for  ornament.  The  Nor- 
man towers  are  also  generally  square,  with  a  some- 
what stunted  appearance.  Many  have  no  buttresses 
whatever,  whilst  others  are  served  with  broad,  flat, 
shallow  projections,  which  assert  themselves  more 
for  show  than  for  utility.  The  reason  for  this  is 
that  the  Normans  built  their  buildings  with  walls 
immensely  thick  with  an  eye  to  stability.  The 
heavy  appearance  of  their  towers  is  cleverly  re- 
lieved by  the  introduction  of  arcades  around  them, 
as  at  St.  Albans,  and  occasionally  richly  orna- 
mented, as  shown  at  Norwich  and  Winchester. 

At  one  of  the  angles  there  is  frequently  a  stone 
staircase.  The  upper  windows  of  these  towers 
differ  little  from  the  Anglo-Saxon,  except  in  that 

[12] 


CHARACTERISTICS 

the  two  lights  are  separated  by  a  shaft  or  short 
column  in  place  of  the  rounded  baluster. 

The  Norman  doorways  are  a  great  feature. 
They  are  generally  adorned  with  a  series  of  columns 
with  enriched  arch  mouldings  spanning  from  capi- 
tal to  capital. 

Their  vaults  were  heavily  constructed  at  no 
great  height  from  the  ground,  and  generally  ap- 
plied to  the  aisles  of  churches.  They  exerted  a 
greater  thrust  on  the  walls  than  the  later  Gothic 
vaults. 

Norman.  —  These  churches  are  generally  to  be 
found  perched  on  commanding  sites,  chosen  as 
natural  places  of  defence.  Often  a  river  wound 
round  the  base,  and  where  it  led  short,  a  moat  was 
constructed  on  the  landward  side,  and  borrowed  its 
water  from  the  river. 

The  activity  of  the  Norman  builders  is  astound- 
ing, and  forms  a  great  contrast  to  the  few  years 
before  their  advent.  For  a  short  time  architecture 
suffered  a  paralysis.  Not  till  the  much-dreaded 
Millennium  (looo  a.d.),  when  it  was  thought  the 
world  would  certainly  come  to  an  end,  had  passed 
did  people  take  heart  again,  and  architects  make 
up  for  lost  time. 

Early  English.  —  In  this  period  the  massive 
Norman    walls    gave    way    to    walls    reduced    in 

[13] 


CATHEDRAL   CITIES 

thickness.  The  buttresses  became  of  more  struc- 
tural significance.  Also,  flying-buttresses  gradually 
came  into  use  to  strengthen  the  weakness  of  the 
upper  works,  caused  by  the  reduction  of  the  walls 
in  thickness.  The  pillars  were  elongated,  and  of 
slight  construction.  The  doorways,  windows  and 
arcades  were  built  with  polished  marble  obtained 
from  the  Isle  of  Purbeck. 

The  science  of  vaulting  became  more  advanced. 

The  towers  were  taller  and  more  elegant,  with 
plain  parapets.  They  were  generally  furnished 
with  windows.  The  lower  ones  resembled  much 
the  arrow-slit  formation  of  the  Norman  style.  The 
upper  windows  were  grouped  in  twos  and  threes. 

The  broach-spire  now  came  into  notice.  It 
was  added  on  to  the  square  tower,  and  at  the  early 
part  of  this  style  was  low  in  height,  but  gradually 
became  taller. 

The  circular-headed  windows  of  the  Normans 
gave  place  to  the  narrow-pointed  lancets  of  the 
Early  English.  These  admitted  little  light,  and 
necessitated  a  greater  number  of  windows,  which 
were  grouped  into  couplets  or  triplets. 

Geo??jetrical.  — The  window,  by  the  gradual  pro- 
cess of  piercing  the  vacant  spaces  in  the  window- 
head,  carrying  mouldings  around  the  tracery  (or 
ornamental    fiUing-in),    and    adding    cusps     (the 

[H] 


CHARACTERISTICS 

point  where  foliations  of  tracery  intersect),  gave 
rise  to  Geometrical  work. 

The  earliest  work  of  this  kind  is  found  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

Decorated.  —  The  towers  are  made  to  appear 
lighter  by  the  parapets  being  either  embattled  or 
pierced  with  elegant  designs,  and  pinnacles  placed 
on  them. 

The  broach-spires  gave  place  to  spires  springing 
at  once  from  the  octagon.  The  buttresses  are  set 
angularly.  In  this  period  the  architects  failed  to 
maintain  the  vigour  of  the  Geometrical  period. 
The  Decorated  windows  are  formed  of  portions  of 
circles,  with  their  centres  falling  on  the  intersec- 
tion of  certain  geometrical  figures. 

There  is  a  glorious  example  afforded  by  the  west 
window  at  York. 

Perpendicular.  —  The  towers  are  generally  richly 
panelled  throughout;  the  buttresses  project  boldly 
—  sometimes  square,  or  sometimes  set  at  an  angle, 
but  not  close  to  each  other. 

The  pinnacles  are  often  richly  canopied.  The 
battlements  panelled,  and  frequently  pierced.  In 
the  middle  of  the  parapet  now  and  then  is  placed 
a  pinnacle  or  a  canopied  niche. 


[15] 


Canterbury 

Cantuarla. 
(«  Doomsday  Book.") 


OF  all  Cathedral  cities,  Canterbury,  or,  as  it 
is  also  called,  Christ  Church,  may  pos- 
sibly be  considered  the  most  interesting. 
Though  not  the  first  to  spread  Christianity  in 
Britain,  it  nevertheless  firmly  established  it  in  the 
end.  The  earliest  authentic  evidence  of  Christians 
in  England  is  mentioned  by  Tertullian,  in  208. 
And  again,  in  304,  St.  Alban  had  been  martyred 
during  Diocletian's  persecution  at  Verulam,  now- 
known  as  St.  Alban's.  Then,  in  314,  Christianity 
had  attained  such  a  position  in  Britain  that  it  had 
been  considered  necessary  fiDr  the  Bishops  of  York 
and  London  to  attend  at  the  Council  of  Aries,  in 
France.  So  that  by  the  end  of  the  third  century 
to  the  beginning  of  the  fourth,  it  is  known  that 
there  existed  bishops,  though  not  till  the  close  of 
the  fourth  century  was  there  a  "  settled  Church  " 
in  Britain,  with  churches,  altars.  Scriptures,  and 
discipline. 

[  17] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

These  expounded  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  were 
in  touch  with  Rome  and  Palestine.  But  the 
arrival  of  Augustine,  in  600,  decidedly  gave  an 
impetus  to  the  lasting  establishment  of  Christianity 
in  England,  and  the  whole  island  quickly  became 
converted. 

Though  Christianity  had  long  flourished  in 
Rome,  it  could  hardly,  in  its  early  stages,  be  ex- 
pected to  make  itself  greatly  felt  in  Britain,  owing 
to  the  continual  troublous  times  caused  by  the 
invasions  first  by  the  Roman  soldiery,  then  by  the 
Scots  and  Picts  from  Caledonia  (now  called  Scot- 
land), and  the  Saxons,  who  came  from  the  river 
Elbe,  and  the  Angles,  who  dwelt  to  the  north  of 
the  Saxons,  in  the  districts  now  called  Schleswig 
and  Holstein.  Then  the  Danes  and  Northmen 
landed  in  England  in  787,  and  practically  overran 
the  whole  kingdom.  All  these  tribes,  each  in 
its  turn,  devastated  the  country,  pillaging  and 
destroying  everything,  so  that  there  is  little  to 
marvel  at  the  slow  growth  of  Christianity  in  the 
island,  seeing  that  the  clergy  were  the  first  to 
sufl^er.  Augustine  may  be  said  to  have  certainly 
revived  Christianity  and  rescued  the  Church  from 
utter  oblivion,  but  it  was  left  till  the  Norman 
Conquest  to  erect  the  wonderful  architectural 
structures,  many  of  which  exist  till  this  day. 

[18  J 


CANTERBURY 

The  early  history  of  Canterbury  is  shrouded  in 
mystery.  The  discovery  of  Druidical  remains 
clearly  points  to  the  practice  of  religious  rites  of 
the  Britons  prior  to  the  Christian  era.  It  appears 
also  that  the  Romans  found  it  as  a  British  town 
of  some  importance.  This  theory,  laying  aside 
minor  considerations,  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  the  Romans  called  it  Durovernum,  the  de- 
rivation of  v^hich  they  borrowed  from  the  British 
words  "  dwr  "  a  stream,  and  "  whern  "  swift,  the 
latter  of  which  was  most  appropriate  to  the  Stour, 
on  whose  banks  the  city  was  founded.  The  Sax- 
ons on  their  arrival  called  the  place  "  Cantwara- 
byrig."  From  this,  no  doubt,  Canterbury  owes 
the  origin  of  its  present  name.  Contrary  to  the 
ordinary  laws  of  foundation,  there  appears  to  have 
been  no  one  (locally)  covetous  of  the  honour  of 
martyrdom,  or  possibly  worthy,  if  martyred,  of 
recognition  by  the  Church. 

During  the  Roman  occupation  of  the  city, 
Christianity  struggled,  probably  kept  alive  by  such 
of  the  soldiers  who  had  been  previously  converted 
in  Rome. 

Two  churches  were  built  in  the  second  century. 
One  of  these,  in  600,  was  consecrated  by  the 
Bishop  of  Soissons,  and  dedicated  to  St.  Martin, 
for  Bertha,  a  daughter  of  Charibert,  a   Christian 

[21] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

king  of  Paris.  On  her  marriage  with  Ethelbert 
of  Kent,  the  foremost  king  of  the  EngUsh,  it  was 
stipulated  that  her  reHgious  incHnations  should  be 
protected.  Through  her  influence  the  king  be- 
came converted.  To  encourage  Christianity,  and 
to  set  a  good  example  to  his  subjects,  Ethelbert 
welcomed  Augustine  and  his  forty  monks,  in  597, 
gave  him  his  palace,  which  was  speedily  converted 
into  a  priory,  and  helped  him  to  found  an  abbey 
without  the  city  walls,  and  intended  as  a  sepulture 
for  the  Archbishops. 

This  abbey  was  dedicated  to  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul.  As  Canterbury  was  already  recognised  as 
the  metropolis,  or  head  of  the  State  of  Kent,  in 
that  their  kings  had  their  royal  residence  there,  it 
was  no  difficulty  for  Augustine,  as  spiritual  head, 
to  make  it  also  a  Metropolitan  See,  the  more  so  as, 
by  the  investiture  of  the  Pope,  he  became  the  first 
Archbishop. 

Pope  Gregory's  (the  Great)  scheme  in  sending 
Augustine  was  to  divide  England  into  two  Pro- 
vinces, with  Metropolitans  of  equal  dignity  at 
London  and  York,  and  twelve  Suffragans  to  each. 
But  all  that  his  emissary  could  effect  was  to  conse- 
crate two  bishops,  one  at  Rochester  (Kent)  and 
one  at  Essex.  As  Christianity  took  a  firmer  hold 
in  England,  it   was  generally   to  Canterbury   that 

[22] 


CANTERBURY 


CHRISTCHURCH     GATEWAY 


CANTERBURY 

the  different  portions  of  England  applied  for  mis- 
sionaries. In  this  foundation  Augustine  has  been 
followed  by  a  succession  of  prelates,  who  distin- 
guished themselves  equally  in  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral affairs  of  the  State  —  men,  each  of  whom 
made  a  great  stir  during  his  life,  and  whose 
names  even  now  are  enshrined,  as  it  were,  in  a 
halo  of  romance.  They  represent  the  intellect  of 
their  times  ;  their  lives  show  us  the  difficulties  they 
encountered  in  overcoming  the  crass  ignorance  of 
the  people  on  whose  behalf  they  worked,  and  the 
risks  and  dangers  and  petty  tyranny  they  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  kings,  whose  chief  amusements 
were  disturbing  the  peace  and  licentious  living. 
Those  who  have  played  the  most  prominent  part 
in  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  in  lay  history  are: 

Dunstan,  who  governed  with  a  tight  hand  the 
kingdom  during  the  reigns  of  Edred  and  Edwy ; 
Stigand,  who,  for  his  opposition  to  William  the 
Conqueror,  was  deposed  from  the  See  to  make 
room  for  Lanfranc ;  Lanfranc,  whose  memory 
is  perpetuated  not  only  through  his  abilities  as 
scholar,  statesman  and  administrator,  but  more 
especially  as  one  who  rebuilt  the  Cathedral  and  as 
founder  of  several  religious  establishments;  the 
celebrated  Thomas  a  Becket,  who,  until  he  became 
Archbishop,  was  the  great  friend  of  Henry    II., 

[25] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

and  was  Chancellor  of  England.  On  the  accept- 
ance of  the  Archbishopric,  Becket  constituted  him- 
self as  a  champion  of  the  rights  and  claims  of  the 
Church,  and  would  brook  no  interference  from 
Henry  in  ecclesiastical  matters.  This  naturally- 
created  a  coolness  between  the  two,  which  ended 
in  Becket's  retiring  to  France  for  six  years.  On 
Henry's  promise  to  annul  the  Constitution  of 
Clarendon,  in  1170,  Becket  returned,  only  a  few 
days  after  to  be  murdered  in  the  Cathedral. 

Stephen  Langton,  who  was  raised  to  the  See  by 
Pope  Innocent  III.,  in  defiance  of  King  John, 
during  a  quarrel  he  had  with  the  Church;  Cran- 
mer,  who,  for  promoting  the  Reformation,  was 
burnt  at  the  stake  in  Mary's  reign  ;  and  Laud, 
who  was  beheaded  during  the  Commonwealth  of 
Cromwell  for  supporting  the  measures  of  his 
sovereign,   Charles  I. 

Augustine  did  not  live  to  see  the  completion  of 
his  Cathedral.  It  was  dedicated  to  Our  Saviour, 
and  it  is  even  now  usually  called  Christ  Church. 

During  the  ravages  of  the  Danes  the  city  suf- 
fered greatly,  and  the  Archbishopric  became 
vacant  in  loii,  through  the  violent  death  dealt 
out  to  Archbishop  Alphage  by  the   Danes. 

Canute,  after  his  usurpation  of  the  throne,  re- 
built a  great  part  of  the    city    and    restored    the 

[26  J 


CANTERBURY 

INTERIOR     OK    THE     NAVE 


: 


CANTERBURY 

Cathedral ;  and  the  monks  were  not  forgotten,  in 
that  the  revenue  of  the  port  of  Sandwich  was 
made  over  to  them  for  their  support.  These 
benefits  greatly  helped  the  city  to  attain  great  im- 
portance, and  in  Doomsday  Book  it  is  entered 
under  the  title  of  "  Civitas  Cantuariae." 

In  1080  the  Cathedral  was  burnt  down,  only  to 
be  restored  with  greater  splendour,  and  dedicated 
to  the  Holy  Trinity,  by  Archbishop  Lanfranc, 
who  rebuilt  the  monastic  edifice,  erected  the  Arch- 
bishop's palace,  founded  and  endowed  a  priory 
dedicated  to  St.  Gregory,  and  built  the  hospitals  of 
St.  John  and  St.  Nicholas. 

In  1 161  the  city  became  almost  extinct  through 
fire,  and  at  several  subsequent  periods  it  suffered 
severely  from  the  same  cause. 

In  1 170  the  great  event  which  stirred  the  king- 
dom, and  which  conveniently  marks  the  start- 
ing-point of  the  disastrous  half  of  Henry  II. 's 
reign,  was  the  great  means  of  replenishing  the 
treasury  of  the  Cathedral.  In  that  year  Becket 
was  murdered  as  he  was  ascending  the  steps  lead- 
ing from  the  nave  into  the  choir.  His  name  was 
subsequently  canonised.  His  shrine  was  visited 
from  far  and  near  by  every  rank  of  pilgrim,  who 
seldom  left  without  depositing  first  some  substan- 
tial token  of  their  reverence  for  the  saint.     Four 

[29] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

years  after  the  murder  popular  feeling  was  as  great 
as  ever,  so  that  it  was  probably  to  propitiate  the 
people,  as  much  as  to  ask  for  Divine  intercession 
in  his  troublous  affairs,  that  Henry  II.  performed 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  and  submitted  himself 
to  be  scourged  by  the  monks. 

Another  source  of  great  importance  to  the 
Cathedral  was  the  institution  of  the  Jubilee  by 
the  Pope.  It  commemorated  every  fifty  years 
the  death  of  Becket,  and  till  the  last  one,  cele- 
brated in  1520,  attracted  an  immense  number  of 
pilgrims,  who  gave  a  great  impetus  to  trade  in  the 
city.  The  number  and  richness  of  their  offerings 
were  incredible. 

The  dissolution  of  the  priory  of  Christ  Church 
was  gradually  effected  ;  the  festivals  in  honour  of 
the  martyr  were  one  by  one  abolished  ;  his  shrine 
was  stripped  of  its  gorgeous  ornaments,  and  the 
bones  of  the  saint  were  burnt  to  ashes  and  scattered 
to  the  winds. 

A  part  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Augustine  was 
converted  into  a  royal  palace  by  Henry  VIII.  In 
this  palace  Queen  Elizabeth  held  her  court  for  a 
short  time.  During  her  reign  there  was  an  influx 
of  Walloons,  who,  persecuted  for  their  religious 
tenets,  had  fled  from  the  Netherlands  and  settled 
in  Canterbury. 

[30] 


CANTERBURY 

They  Introduced  the  weaving  of  silk  and  stufFs. 
To  them  Queen  Elizabeth  allotted  the  crypt  under 
the  Cathedral  as  their  place  of  worship,  where 
the  service  is  still  performed  in  French  to  their 
descendants. 

In  this  Cathedral  was  solemnised  the  marriage 
of  Charles  I.  with  Henrietta  Maria  of  France,  in 
1625.  During  the  war  between  Charles  I.  and 
Cromwell  the  Cathedral  was  wantonly  mutilated 
and  defaced  by  the  followers  of  Cromwell,  who 
converted  the  sacred  edifice  into  stables  for  his 
horses.  At  the  Restoration,  Charles  II.,  on  his 
return  from  France,  held  his  court  in  the  royal 
palace  at  Canterbury  for  three  days.  This  mon- 
arch, in  1676,  granted  a  charter  of  incorporation 
to  the  refugee  silk-weavers  settled  in  the  city. 
These  refugees,  a  few  years  after,  were  consider- 
ably increased  by  French  artisans,  who  came 
over  consequent  on  the  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes  in   1685. 

To  those  admirers  of  form  and  beauty  the  won- 
derful architecture  of  the  present  Cathedral  must 
satisfy  their  every  craving.  To  students  the  study 
of  this  colossal  building  must  be  a  work  of  love, 
encouragement,  and  continued  interest.  Rebuilt 
soon  after  the  Conquest  by  Archbishop  Lanfranc, 
and  worthily  enlarged  and  enriched  by  his  several 

[31] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

successors,  the  Cathedral  is  a  crowning  work  of 
grandeur  and  magnificence,  exhibiting,  in  its 
highest  perfection,  every  specimen  of  architecture, 
from  the  earliest  Norman  to  the  latest  English. 
In  form  it  is  that  of  a  double  cross.  Where  the 
nave  and  the  western  transepts  intersect,  there 
springs  up  a  lofty  and  elegant  tower  in  the  Later 
English  style,  with  a  spired  parapet  and  pinnacles, 
with  octagonal  turrets  at  the  angles,  terminating 
in  minarets.  In  the  west  end  are  two  massive 
towers,  of  which  the  north-west  is  Norman,  and 
the  south-west  is  similar  in  character,  though 
embattled,  and  little  inferior  to  the  central  tower. 
Perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  portions  of  this 
Cathedral,  though  it  is  hardly  possible  to  make  a 
distinction,  arc  the  Chapel  of  Henry  IV.,  with  its 
beautiful  fan  tracery  depending  from  the  roof; 
the  small  but  beautiful  Lady  Chapel,  which  is 
separated  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  transept  by 
the  interposition  of  a  finely  carved  stone  screen ; 
and  in  that  part  of  the  Cathedral,  called  Becket's 
Crown,  is  the  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  famous 
as  the  site  of  the  gorgeous  Shrine  of  St.  Thomas 
a  Becket.  In  "  Becket's  Crown  "  a  softened  light 
steals  through  the  painted  window.  The  interest 
in  this  window  lies  in  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
glass  shown  is  ancient,  and   it   is  the  fifth  of  the 

[32] 


CANTERBURY 


THE    NORMAN    STAIRWAY 


' 


CANTERBURY 

twelve  windows  in  the  Trinity  Chapel  which 
suffered  severely  at  the  hands  of  the  Puritans  in 
1642. 

What  remained  of  the  ancient  glass  was  replaced, 
as  far  as  possible  in  the  original  position,  by  the 
late  Mr.  George  Austen,  subsequently  to  1853. 

These  windows  represent  the  miracles  of  St. 
Thomas  a  Becket  between  the  years  1220  and 
1240. 

Between  the  western  towers  there  is  a  narrow 
entrance  spanned  over  by  a  sharply  pointed 
arch,  enriched  with  deeply  recessed  mouldings. 
Above  this  are  canopied  niches,  over  which  is  a 
lofty  window  of  six  lights  with  richly  stained 
glass. 

The  south-west  porch  constitutes  the  principal 
entrance,  and  is  highly  enriched  with  niches  of 
elegant  design.  It  belongs  to  a  late  period  of 
English  architecture.  The  roof  is  mos  elabor- 
ately groined,  and  shields  are  attached  at  the 
intersections  of  the  ribs.  In  the  same  period  of 
Late  English  must  be  included  the  fine  nave  and 
the  western  transepts.  A  gorgeous  effect  is  given 
by  the  richly  groined  roof  supported  by  eight  lofty 
piers,  which  divide  it  off  on  each  side  from  the 
aisles.  From  the  eastern  part  numerous  avenues 
lead  to  the  many  chapels  in  different  parts  of  the 

[35] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

interior,  and  give  a  truly  magnificent  effect.  All 
these  chapels  deserve  the  closest  study,  like  the 
rest  of  the  building,  to  thoroughly  appreciate  the 
subtlety  of  design,  and  the  marvellous  skill  of 
the  architect. 


[36], 


Burfjam 


Dunholme. 

("  Doomsday  Book.") 

Hac  sunt  in  fossa  Bedae  Venerabilis  ossa. 

I  HOUGH    Durham   dates   from   the    tenth 
century,  yet  it  is  necessary,  to  understand 
the  growth  of  its  power,  to  go  back  to  the 
seventh  century. 

The  exact  date  of  the  birth  of  St.  Cuthbert  is 
unknown.  As  a  youth  he  was  admitted  into 
Melrose  Abbey,  where  in  the  course  of  fourteen 
years  he  became  monk  and  prior.  From  there  he 
passed  another  fourteen  years  in  the  Convent  of 
Lindisfarne,  after  which  he  retired  to  Fame  for 
nine  years.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  was 
persuaded,  most  unwillingly,  by  Egrid,  King  of 
Northumbria,  to  become  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  a 
See  in  Bernicia,  as  Durham  County  was  then 
called. 

But  after  two  years'  office  he  retired  to  Fame. 
There  died  St.  Cuthbert  on  March  20,  a.  d.  687, 
in  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  his  monastic  life,  still 

[37] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

undecided  as  to  where  he  should  be  buried. 
However,  the  remains  were  reverently  preserved 
in  the  Church  of  Lindisfarne,  till  the  monks  were 
compelled  to  flee,  owing  to  the  invasion  of  the 
Danes,  towards  the  end  of  the  ninth  century. 
Though  in  dire  dread  and  confusion,  the  monks 
forgot  not  their  sacred  trust,  but  carried  the  holy 
remains  of  St.   Cuthbert  with  them. 

They  wandered  many  a  weary  day  throughout 
the  North  of  England  in  search  of  "  Dunholme," 
which  Eadner,  a  monk  of  their  order,  declared  to 
them  had  been  divinely  revealed  to  him  as  the 
lasting  place  of  rest  for  the  holy  and  incorruptible 
body  of  St.  Cuthbert.  They  seemed  to  have  had 
great  difficulty  in  locating  the  whereabouts  of 
Dunholme,  for  according  to  tradition  they  were 
miraculously  delivered  from  their  nomadic  life. 
As  they  proceeded  they  heard  a  woman  inquire 
of  another  if  she  had  seen  her  cow,  which  had 
gone  astray.  Much  to  their  joy  and  relief  they 
heard  the  reply,   "  In   Dunholme.'* 

Thereupon  they  climbed  to  the  summit  of  the 
"  Hill  Island,"  at  the  base  of  which  they  had 
arrived,  as  they  wished  to  deposit  their  corruptible 
burden  on  a  spot  so  close  to  Heaven  that  it  should 
remain  incorruptible,  and  by  its  incorruptibility 
be  a  fitting  foundation  on  which  to  build  a  shrine 

[38] 


<      H 

X    5 


DURHAM 

worthy  of  their  Saint  and  the  God  who  honoured 
him. 

About  995  their  idea  was  realised  by  Bishop 
Ealdhune.  He  founded  a  church,  built  in  the 
style  usual  then  in  Italy,  of  brick  or  stone  with 
round  arches.  This  style,  based  directly  on  Italian 
models,  became  prevalent  throughout  all  Western 
Europe  till  the  eleventh  century,  and  in  England 
was  known  as  Anglo-Saxon.  This  church  was 
erected  over  the  Saint's  resting-place,  upon  the 
rock  eminence  called  Dunholme  (Hill  Island). 
Later  on  the  Normans  changed  this  into 
"  Duresne,"  whence  Durham.  And  a  represen- 
tation of  a  dun  cow  and  two  female  attendants 
was  placed  upon  the  building.  At  the  same  period 
the  See  was  transferred  from  Lindisfarne,  and, 
together  with  the  growing  fame  of  the  presence 
of  the  "  incorruptible  body  "  of  the  Saint,  attracted 
pilgrims,  who  settled  there  with  their  industries. 
Thus  were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  great  city. 
In  this  wise  St.  Cuthbert  became  the  patron  Saint 
of  Durham,  as  well  as  of  the  North  of  England 
and  of  Southern  Scotland. 

In  1072  William  the  Conqueror  found  it 
necessary  to  erect,  across  the  neck  of  the  rock- 
eminence,  the  castle,  to  guard  the  church  and  its 
monastery. 

[41] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

In  1093  Bishop  Carileph  built  a  church  of  Nor- 
man structure  in  place  of  Ealdhune's  Anglo-Saxon 
church,  and  changed  the  Anglo-Saxon  establish- 
ment of  married  priests  into  a  Benedictine  abbey. 

After  the  Norman  Conquest  the  county  became 
Palatinate,  and  acquired  the  independence  peculiar 
to  Counties  Palatine. 

The  bishops  of  Durham  were  invested  with 
temporal  and  spiritual  powers,  exercising  the  royal 
prerogatives,  such  as  paramount  property  in  lands, 
and  supreme  jurisdiction,  both  civil  and  military, 
waging  war,  right  of  forfeiture,  and  levying  taxes. 
These  privileges  were  granted,  owing  to  the  re- 
moteness of  Durham  from  the  metropolis  and  its 
proximity  to  the  warlike  kingdom  of  Scotland,  and 
allowed  of  justice  being  administered  at  home, 
thereby  doing  away  with  the  obligation  of  the 
inhabitants  quitting  their  county,  and  leaving  it 
exposed  to  hostile  invasions. 

They  were  also  excused  from  military  service 
across  the  Tees  or  Tayne,  on  the  plea  that  they 
were  specially  charged  to  keep  and  defend  the 
sacred  body  of  St.  Cuthbert.  Those  engaged  on 
this  service  were  called  "  Haliwer  folc "  (Holy 
War  folk).  But  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  the  power  of  the  See  was 
much  curtailed  ;  and  eventually,  on  the  death  of 

[42] 


F^j»SS<ft*!te;.''^:i  ilii^eirmei:  ri^sS'':M;^iM0m& 


DURHAM 

Bishop  Van  Milvert  in  1836,  it  was  deprived  of  all 
temporal  jurisdictions  and  privileges. 

Around  Carileph's  fine  Norman  church  numer- 
ous additions  w^ere  made  from  time  to  time, 
namely  : 

The  Galilee  or  Western  Chapel,  of  the  Transi- 
tional Period. 

The  gradual  change  from  the  Norman  to  the 
Pointed  style,  which  took  place  between  1 154  and 
1 1 89,  during  Henry  H.'s  reign. 

The  Eastern  Transept,  or  "  Nine  Altars.*' 

The  Western  Towers,  built  in  "The  Early 
English  Style,"  which  was  a  further  development 
of  "  The  Transitional.'* 

It  was  carried  out  in  the  reigns  of  Richard  I.  to 
Henry  HI.,  11 89  to  1272.  It  is  also  known  as 
"First  Pointed"  or  "Lancet." 

The  Central  Tower  (Perpendicular). 

The  Windows  (Decorated  and  Perpendicular). 

From  1 1 54,  the  commencement  of  Henry  II. 's 
reign,  architecture  acquired  new  characteristics  in 
each  reign,  or  rather  the  architects  of  each  reign 
attempted  to  improve  on  the  style  of  their  prede- 
cessors. It  began  with  the  "Transition  from  Nor- 
man to  Pointed."  From  that  it  passed  to  "  First 
Pointed  or  Early  English."  Then  to  "  Complete 
or  Geometrical  Pointed."     This  was  succeeded,  in 

[45] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Edward  III.'s  time,  by  a  more  flowing  style  called 
"  Middle  Pointed,"  "  Curvilinear,"  or  "  Deco- 
rated." The  graceful  flowing  lines  of  this  period 
culminated  in  what  is  known  as  "The  Third 
Pointed,"  "Rectilinear,"  or  "  Perpendicular  Style." 
This  period  existed  from  1399  to  1546,  that  is  to 
say,  from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  IV. 
to  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

The  Galilee  or  Western  Chapel  was  built  and 
dedicated  as  an  offering  to  "The  Blessed  Virgin," 
by  Bishop  Pudsey,  between  1153  and  11 95;  and 
served  as  the  allotted  place  of  worship  for  women, 
who  were  strictly  forbidden  to  approach  the  sacred 
shrine  of  St.  Cuthbert. 

In  the  south-west  corner  of  this  chapel  there 
is  an  altar-tomb  of  blue  marble.  This  is  revered 
as  the  abiding-place  of  the  earthly  remains  of  the 
great  monk  and  historian,  the  Venerable  Bede. 
Concerning  him,  tradition  relates  how  Elfred,  "The 
Sacrist"  of  Durham,  in  1022,  stole  these  remains 
from  Jarrow  and  preserved  them  in  St.  Cuthbert's 
cofiin  till  1 1 04.  They  were  afterwards  placed  in 
a  gold  and  silver  shrine  by  Bishop  Pudsey,  which 
was  left  in  the  refectory  till  i  370,  when  Richard 
of  Barnard  Castle,  a  monk  afterwards  buried  under 
the  blue  stone  on  the  west  of  the  present  tomb, 
influenced    its    removal    to    the    Galilee    Chapel. 

[46] 


DURHAM 

INTERIOR     OF    CATHEDRAL     LOOKING    ACROSS    TH[ 
NAVE     INTO     SOUTH     TRANSEPT 


DURHAM 

There  upon  the  altar-tomb,  mentioned  before, 
the  casket  was  placed,  and  was  covered  by  a  gilt 
cover  of  wainscot,  which  was  drawn  up  by  a 
pulley  when  the  shrine  was  visited  by  pilgrims. 

Upon  this  altar-tomb  there  is  an  inscription  in 
Latin,  in  current  use  of  the  period,  which  runs 
thus: 

"  Hac  sunt  in  fossa  Bedae  Venerabilis  ossa." 
("  In  this  tomb  are  the  bones  of  the  Venerable  Bede.") 

In  connection  with  this  inscription  there  is  a 
legend  that  the  sixth  word,  "  Venerabilis,"  was 
miraculously  supplied  by  divine  intervention  to  the 
tired  and  till  then  uninspired  monk  who  was  pen- 
ning it.  Hence  Bede  is  known  generally  as  "  The 
Venerable  Bede." 

Close  by  there  was  an  altar  to  the  Venerable 
Bede. 

The  Reformation  swept  away  the  original  tomb, 
leaving  only  a  few  traces  behind,  and  the  bones 
were  buried  under  its  site ;  and  an  altar-tomb, 
which  still  exists,  was  erected  over  them. 

Every  Sunday  and  holiday  at  noon  a  monk  was 
accustomed  to  ascend  the  iron  pulpit  beneath  the 
great  west  window,  and  from  it  to  preach. 

Though  this  pulpit  is  gone,  there  still  exists  in 
close  proximity  a  small  chamber  of  the  time  of 
4  [  49  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Bishop  Langley,  which  was  obviously  the  robing- 
room  of  the  preacher. 

From  1775  to  1795  this  magnificent  pile  was 
given  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  one  James 
Wyatt,  architect,  who,  but  for  timely  intervention 
on  the  part  of  John  Carter,  would  have  left  little 
of  it  to  our  present  view;  but,  alas!  by  his  chisel- 
ling and  interference  with  the  superficial  details  of 
the  exterior,  he  has  taught  us  a  lesson  in  vandalism. 
The  Cathedral  still  survives  with  surpassing  beauty, 
and  the  name  of  the  would-be  destroyer  is  dead. 

The  Galilee  Chapel  was  happily  rescued  in  time 
from  utter  destruction  at  the  hands  of  James  Wyatt. 
This  gentleman  had  already  commenced  to  pull 
down  a  portion  of  it  to  make  room  for  a  coach- 
road,  which  he  had  planned  to  facilitate  the  con- 
nection between  the  castle  and  the  college. 

Unhappily  the  spirit  of  utility  of  a  most  material 
age  allowed  the  Chapter  House  to  be  demolished, 
but,  oddly  enough,  this  demolition,  together  with 
the  peeling  of  the  exterior,  the  removal,  so  to 
speak,  of  details  and  minor  embellishments  of  the 
grand  edifice,  have  robbed  us  of  nothing  of  its  im- 
pressiveness,  but  indeed  remind  us,  as  the  mutilated 
Parthenon  marbles  do,  of  the  irony  of  man's  vain 
predilection  to  mutilate  the  beautiful,  which  must 
last  for  ever.     Thus  again  there  is  evidence  in  the 

[50] 


DURHAM 


ELVET    BRIDGE 


DURHAM 

interior  of  man's  destructive  power  in  the  mutila- 
tion of  the  Neville  tombs. 

It  seems  strange  that  the  House  of  God  the 
Peacemaker  and  the  shrine  of  St.  Cuthbert  the 
"incorruptible"  should  have  been  used  as  a  prison- 
house  of  corruptible  beings  and  peace-breakers,  — 
legitimised  murderers, — for  here  were  interned  the 
Scotch  prisoners  to  the  number  of  forty-five  hun- 
dred, after  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  and  ample  scope 
of  amusement  was  given  for  their  empty  brains,  as 
their  ruthless  exercise  of  the  privilege  records. 

The  Chapel  of  the  Nine  Altars  still  contains  the 
remains  of  St.  Cuthbert.  When  the  tomb  was 
opened  in  1827  a  number  of  curious  and  interest- 
ing books  and  MSS.,  the  portable  altar,  vestments, 
and  other  relics  were  found.  These  are  now  placed 
in  the  Cathedral  Library.  The  Cathedral  Library 
was  formerly  the  dormitory  and  refectories  of  the 
abbey,  as  it  was  originally  styled. 

In  this  connection  one  is  led  to  speculate  upon 
the  possible  early  evolution  of  religious  thought 
of  early  Christianity,  and  to  half  suspect  that  the 
"Nine  Altars"  in  the  Galilee  Chapel  and  the 
"Woman's  Bar"  were  the  remnants  of  symbols 
of  pre-Christian  era,  retained  for  the  obvious 
purpose  of  satisfying  converts  to  the  faith  still 
young. 

[53] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

There  is  a  strong  flavour  of  the  worship  of  the 
Nine  Muses  of  pagan  times,  and  of  the  Judaical 
laws  with  regard  to  women  either  within  or  with- 
out the  places  of  worship. 

Tradition  has  it  that  St.  Cuthbert  was  a  misogy- 
nist, and  so  strong  was  it  that  the  precincts  of  St. 
Cuthbert  were  strictly  guarded  against  the  en- 
croachment of  women.  To  enforce  this  "The 
Boundary  Cross"  or  "Woman's  Bar"  was  con- 
structed to  limit  their  approach,  in  the  south  of 
the  nave. 

By  this  attitude  towards  women  St.  Cuthbert,  as  a 
priest,  only  foreshadowed  the  present  regime  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  as  regards  matrimonial  obligations 
on  the  part  of  its  servants.  For  so  saintly  a  man 
must  not  be  taken  as  a  hater  of  women,  or  his 
beatification  as  the  son  of  a  woman  would  have 
no  sense,  and  would  call  his  incorruptibility  into 
question,  and  his  saintliness  of  character  in  grave 
doubt. 

The  chief  entrance  to  the  Cathedral  was  origi- 
nally in  the  west  end,  but  when  Bishop  Pudsey  built 
the  Galilee  Chapel,  a  doorway  was  constructed  in 
the  north  end,  framed  in  a  rich  and  deeply  re- 
cessed Norman  arch,  doing  away  with  the  necessity 
of  the  great  entrance.  Fixed  to  the  door  is  the 
famous    Norman    knocker,    suspended    from    the 

[54] 


DURHAM 


THE    WESTERN    TOWERS 


DURHAM 

mouth  of  a  grotesque  monster,  by  which  offenders 
seeking  sanctuary  made  their  presence  known. 

One  of  the  most  marvellous  features,  perhaps, 
of  the  whole  Cathedral  is  the  impressive  grandeur 
of  its  appearance  to  the  traveller,  approaching  from 
any  quarter,  who  sees  this  Island  Hill  capped  by 
the  mighty  structure,  soaring  up,  as  it  were,  into 
the  heavens,  yet  dominating  by  its  protecting 
shadows  the  city  round  its  base  —  the  symbol  most 
beautifully  conceived  of  the  affinity  between  earth 
and  heaven,  and  truly  the  noblest  form  of  monu- 
ment of  reverential  design  that  the  human  brain 
could  have  possibly  conceived. 


[57] 


Licefelle. 
(«  Doomsday  Book.") 

♦y  *  ICHFIELD,  the  ancient  cathedral  city  of 
I  I  Staffordshire,  has  the  best  existing  type  of 
gl  «  the  fourteenth-century  English  church.  It 
is  memorable  also  as  the  birthplace  of  Dr.  Johnson. 
Through  the  generosity  of  Alderman  Gilbert  the 
Corporation  has  purchased  the  house  in  which 
Dr.  Johnson  was  born,  with  his  statue  opposite  it, 
and  has  opened  it  to  the  public,  much  in  the  same 
way  as  that  of  Shakespeare's  at  Stratford-on-Avon. 
Lichfield  is  about  sixteen  miles  to  the  north  of 
Birmingham,  and  lies  in  a  fertile  valley,  on  a  small 
tributary  of  the  Trent. 

The  Venerable  Bede,  in  his  accounts  of  this  city, 
calls  it  Licidfeld,  being  supposed  to  mean  "  Field 
of  the  Dead."  It  appears  that  a  large  number  of 
Christians,  in  the  reign  of  Diocletian,  was  massacred 
just  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  thus  originated  the 
name   Lichfeld,   now   altered    to   Lichfield.     The 

[58] 


LICHFIELD 

termination  "  feld  "  was  clearly  introduced  from 
over  the  water,  for  it  still  exists  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, and  bears  the  same  meaning.  As  to  what 
connection  exists  between  "  licid "  and  "  dead,'* 
we  cannot  clearly  understand. 

In  669  Lichfield  became  an  episcopal  see,  over 
which  St.  Chad  was  the  first  bishop.  He  left 
behind  him  a  work,  in  the  form  of  his  Gospels. 
For  a  short  time,  namely,  in  the  reign  of  OfFa,  it 
was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  an  archbishopric,  but 
the  Primacy  was  restored  to  Canterbury  in  803. 
The  See  of  Lichfield  was,  in  1075,  transferred  to 
Chester,  and  from  there,  a  few  years  later,  to  Cov- 
entry. Eventually,  in  1148,  Lichfield  recovered 
its  see.  In  1305  the  town  received  a  charter  of 
incorporation,  and  has  since  returned  members  to 
Parliament.  It  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  city 
by  Edward  VI.,  1549. 

The  original  Norman  Cathedral  no  longer  exists. 
In  its  stead  there  is  a  beautiful  structure  of  Early 
English  style,  dating  either  from  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  or  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century. 

Mr.  Collins  gives  us  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
wonderful  and  elaborate  architecture  of  the  west 
front.  It  seems  that  the  architect  generally  lavished 
his  best  powers  on  the  west  front,  as  if  to  arrest 

[59] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  attention  of  the  worshipper  prior  to  entry. 
The  west  front  was,  and  is  now,  invariably  the 
chief  entrance  to  the  church.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  entrance  was  here  specially  situated  with 
a  view  of  continuing  the  first  great  impression. 
There  is  nothing  grander  and  more  impressive  in 
cathedral  architecture  than  to  view  the  gradual 
unfolding  of  the  interior  as  the  sight  becomes  more 
accustomed  to  the  sudden  transition  of  the  outside 
glare  of  day  to  the  subdued  light  inside. 

Nothing  can  be  more  symbolical  of  religion  in 
church  structure  than  to  observe  the  trend  of  archi- 
tectural lines  in  perspective.  If  the  eye  follow  the 
upward  course  of  the  central  and  side  aisles,  and 
the  downward  sweep  of  the  caps  of  columns, 
arches  and  walls  diminishing  in  true  perspective 
lines,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  converge  to  the 
holiest  place  of  the  sacred  edifice  —  the  altar,  the 
point  of  sight  for  all. 

This  Cathedral  received,  like  other  mighty 
buildings,  similar  ill-treatment  during  the  Civil 
Wars.  It  was  converted  into  stables  by  the  par- 
liamentary troops,  who  created  havoc  amongst  its 
rich  sculptures.  In  1651  it  was  set  on  fire,  and, 
by  order  of  Parliament,  was  stripped  of  its  lead, 
and  left  to  neglect  and  decay. 

The  damage  was  repaired  by  Bishop  Hackett  in 

[60] 


LICHFIELD 

THE    WEST    FRONT 


LICHFIELD 

1 67 1.  The  Restoration  has  not  long  been  com- 
pleted, various  improvements  having  been  made. 
Under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Wyatt,  the 
choir  was  enlarged  by  the  removal  of  the  screen 
in  front  of  the  Lady  Chapel.  The  transepts  are 
richly  ornamented,  and  contain  certain  portions  of 
Norman  architecture.  The  windows  are  worked 
in  beautiful  tracery.  The  choir  is  in  the  Decorated 
style  of  English  architecture. 

St.  Mary's  Chapel  is  an  elegant  design  by  Bishop 
Langton.  For  the  central  window  was  painted 
"The  Resurrection,"  by  Eggington,  from  a  design 
by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  the  first  president  of  the 
Royal  Academy.  In  this  same  chapel  there  was 
the  rich  shrine  to  St.  Chad,  which  was  demolished 
at  the  Dissolution. 

There  is  a  great  central  tower  of  two  hundred 
and  eighty-five  feet  in  height,  besides  two  western 
spires  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  feet.  The 
total  length  of  the  building  from  east  to  west  is 
about  four  hundred  feet.  By  the  north  aisle  is  the 
Chapter-house.  It  is  a  ten-sided  building  of  great 
beauty,  with  a  vaulted  roof  supported  on  a  central 
clustered  column. 

The  memory  of  Bishops  Hackett,  Langton,  and 
Pattishul  is  kept  alive  by  their  monuments,  which 
escaped  the  ravages  of  Cromwell's  troops.    A  monu- 

[63] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ment  to  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  a  bust  of  Garrick, 
and  a  mutilated  statue  of  Captain  Stanley,  serve 
to  remind  us  of  their  departure  from  this  world. 
Chantrey  is  responsible  for  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  the  infant  children  of  Mrs.  Robinson. 


[64] 


Oxenford. 
("Doomsday  Book.") 


HE  greatness  of  the  city  of  Oxford,  a  con- 
traction of  Oxenford,  as  quaintly  depicted 
on  the  armorial  shield  by  an  ill-drawn  ox 
making  tentative  efforts  to  cross  a  ford  represented 
by  horizontal  zigzag  waves,  consists  in  its  magni- 
ficent colleges,  not  huddled  together,  but  dotted  in 
all  directions.  Some  authorities  derive  the  name 
from  Ouseford,  from  the  river  Ouse,  now  the  Isis, 
and  that  the  wealthy  abbey,  erected  on  an  island 
in  this  river,  was  named  Ouseney,  or  Osney,  from 
the  same  source. 

Didanus,  an  early  Saxon  prince,  is  credited  with 
a  monastic  establishment,  about  the  year  730,  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Mary  and  All  Saints,  and  founded  for 
twelve  sisters  of  noble  birth.  His  daughter  Fride- 
swide  was  first  abbess,  and  was  after  death  canonised 
and  buried  in  the  abbey  dedicated  to  St.  Frideswide. 
The  origin  of  the  city  is  attributed  by  some 
historians  to  the  establishment  of  schools  by  Alfred 
5  [65] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  Great,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  demon- 
strated to  have  existed  many  years  prior  to  this 
monarch's  reign,  as  far  back  as  802,  by  an  act  of 
confirmation  by  Pope  Martin  II.,  which  sets  it 
forth  as  an  ancient  academy  of  learning.  It  has 
its  market-place  and  other  essentials,  like  every 
town;  but  take  away  the  colleges,  and  with  them 
sweep  away  all  the  traditions  that  have  sprung  up 
and  constituted  that  university  which  brooks  no 
rival  excepting  Cambridge,  the  city  would  no 
longer  be  a  city,  but,  at  the  most,  an  overgrown 
village. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  colleges  were  the 
gradual  development  of  monastic  institutions. 
The  hall  of  nowadays  and  the  kitchens  and 
buttery-hatch  are  simply  the  survivals  of  the  re- 
fectory of  the  mediaeval  days.  The  compulsory 
morning  attendance  of  students,  on  most  days  dur- 
ing term-time,  to  prayers  in  chapel,  is  again  a  sur- 
vival of  the  matutinal  devotions  of  the  monks.  In 
the  early  days  of  monasticism  the  inmates  of  the 
ecclesiastical  buildings  were  the  only  recipients  of 
learning  and  exponents  of  illuminated  manuscripts, 
in  addition  to  the  knowledge  of  some  trade  or 
other.  A  few,  perhaps,  of  the  laity,  who  were 
favourites  and  might  possibly  be  admitted  as 
novices,  were  permitted  to  partake  of  this  know- 

[66] 


OXFORD 

ledge,  but  being  brought  up  in  the  convent  their 
sympathy  and  gratitude  would  be  entirely  with 
their  benefactors.  Nevertheless,  as  time  went  on 
and  a  thirst  for  knowledge  of  letters  increased,  this 
introduction  of  novices  became  the  thin  end  of 
the  wedge  to  the  downfall  of  the  monastic  power, 
which  was  consummated  by  Henry  VIII.  in  the 
year  1525. 

On  the  site  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Frideswide 
Cardinal  Wolsey  founded  a  college,  then  named 
Cardinal  College,  but  now  known  as  Christ  Church. 
On  the  disgrace  of  this  famous  prelate,  Henry  VIII. 
completed  the  establishment,  under  the  name  of 
Henry  the  Eighth's  College.  It  is  necessary  to 
make  this  slight  mention  of  the  college,  for  no 
doubt  its  great  accommodation  influenced  the 
removal  of  the  episcopal  see  from  Osney,  and  con- 
stituted the  elevation  of  the  Church  of  St.  Fride- 
swide into  a  cathedral.  This  removal  necessitated 
the  change  of  name  to  Christ  Church,  under  which 
is  comprised  the  sacred  edifice  and  college.  This 
has  given  rise  to  a  unique  position.  The  Cathe- 
dral is  not  only  a  cathedral  of  the  city,  but  is  a 
noble  and  immense  chapel  of  the  college,  and  the 
Dean  occupies  the  singular  position  not  only  as 
the  Dean  of  the  church  but  also  as  the  Dean  of 
the  college. 

[67] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Spread  out  before  the  chief  and  only  entrance  of 
the  church  is  Tom  Quadrangle,  with  a  paved  walk 
extending  all  round,  and  raised  a  few  steps  above 
the  circular  carriage  drive  which  encloses  a  lawn, 
with  the  pond  famous  for  the  ducking  of  students 
unpopular  with  their  contemporaries. 

There  are  evidences,  at  one  time,  of  the  exist- 
ence of  pillars  supporting  a  roof,  covering  the  whole 
extent  of  the  broad-flagged  pavement  of  this  quad- 
rangle. The  principal  entrance  to  this  quadrangle 
is  through  Tom  Tower,  from  which  daily,  about 
nine  in  the  evening,  the  huge  bell  booms  forth  one 
hundred  and  one  strokes,  the  signal  for  all  colleges 
to  close  their  portals,  and  the  dealing  out  of  pecu- 
niary fines  to  all  late-comers.  The  lower  part  of 
this  tower,  up  to  the  two  smaller  towers,  is  Wolsey's, 
whilst  the  upper  and  incongruous  half  is  the  con- 
ception of  Wren.  In  spite  of  this,  it  is  a  noble- 
looking  structure,  as  can  be  seen  by  looking  at  the 
water-colour  of  Mr.  Collins. 

The  Cathedral  cannot  strictly  be  termed  im- 
posing, as  so  little  of  it  is  visible  externally.  It  is 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the  college  precincts, 
and  jammed,  as  it  were,  into  a  corner,  presents  a 
rather  undignified  appearance,  and  not  at  all  in 
accordance  with  the  usual  proud  position  of  a 
cathedral.       It    shows    to    best    advantage    when 

[68] 


OXFORD 

CHRISTCHURCH.         INTERIOR    OF    THE    NAVE 


OXFORD 

viewed  from  the  side  of  the  river  Thames,  exhib- 
iting, as  it  does,  its  beautiful  spire.  This  spire, 
of  Early  English  architecture,  is  one  of  the  earliest 
in  the  kingdom,  though  forming  no  part  of  the 
original  design.  It  is  planted  on  the  top  of  the 
central  tower  of  the  Cathedral,  which  is  a  cruci- 
form Norman  structure. 

The  interior  presents  many  interesting  portions 
of  singular  beauty  and  design ;  the  arches  of  the 
nave,  which  have  been  partly  demolished,  are  in  a 
double  series,  the  tower  springing  from  corbels  on 
the  piers.  The  remains  of  the  nave,  transepts  and 
choir  arches  date  from  the  twelfth  century  ;  and 
the  Church  of  St.  Frideswide,  or,  as  it  is  now 
known,  Christ  Church.  The  beautifully  groined 
roof  of  the  choir  is  decorated  with  pendants,  pre- 
senting a  rich  appearance. 

The  Latin  Chapel  has  several  windows  in  the 
Decorated  style,  whilst  the  Dean's  Chapel  possesses 
a  monument  in  the  same  style,  with  beautiful  can- 
opied niches,  and  the  shrine  of  St.  Frideswide,  most 
elaborately  designed  in  the  Late  style  of  English 
architecture.  During  the  Parliamentary  war  many 
windows  were  destroyed. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  various  vicissitudes 
of  the  city  in  history.  It  suffered  terrible  visita- 
tions  from    the    Danes,    who    burnt    it  on  three 

[71] 


.1 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

separate  occasions.  For  refusing  to  submit  to  the 
Conqueror,  in  1067,  Oxford  was  taken  by  storm 
and  given  to  Robert  D'Oily.  William  Rufus  held 
a  council  in  the  town  under  Lanfranc,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  with  other  bishops  assisting,  to 
defeat  a  conspiracy  formed  against  him  by  Odo, 
Bishop  of  Bayeux,  in  favour  of  Robert,  Duke  of 
Normandy. 

Stephen  assembled  a  council  of  the  nobility  here, 
to  whom  he  promised  to  abolish  the  tax  called 
"Dane  Gelt,"  and  to  restore  the  laws  of  Edward 
the  Confessor.  By  way  of  digression  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  Flemings  still  use  the 
word  "geld"  (money),  which  is  a  corruption  of 
«  gelt." 

When  Henry  II.  and  Thomas  a  Becket  fell  out 
the  monarch  held  a  parliament  at  Oxford  to  under- 
mine the  Pope's  authority,  who  had  laid  an  inter- 
dict on  the  kingdom. 

In  1 1 67  he  again  summoned  here  another  par- 
liament, to  partition  Ireland  among  faithful  subjects 
who  had  achieved  the  conquest  of  it.  The  citizens 
of  Oxford  contributed  handsomely  to  the  ransom 
of  Richard  I.  when  detained  prisoner  in  Austria. 
King  John  managed  here  in  i  204,  through  the  aid 
of  a  parliament,  to  raise  liberal  supplies.  Stephen 
Langton,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  held  here  a 

[72] 


OXFORD 

synod  for  reforming  ecclesiastical  abuses.  Parlia- 
ment was  again  assembled  in  this  ancient  city  by 
Henry  III.,  in  which  he  assumed  the  government, 
and  revoked  the  grant  of  Magna  Charta  and  the 
Charter  of  Forests,  on  the  plea  that  he  signed  them 
when  a  minor.  In  1 3 1 9  Pondras,  son  of  a  tanner 
at  Exeter,  caused  some  commotion  at  Oxford,  de- 
claring that  he  was  the  rightful  heir  of  Edward  I., 
and  had  been  stolen  and  exchanged  for  the  reign- 
ing prince,  Edward  II.  For  the  imposture  he  was 
executed  at  Northampton. 

Later  on  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to  assassinate 
Henry  IV.,  at  a  tournament  to  be  held  here,  and 
to  restore  the  deposed  monarch,  Richard  II.,  to 
the  throne.  It  signally  failed,  and  the  Earls  of 
Kent  and  Salisbury,  Sir  Thomas  Blount,  and  others 
were  executed  near  Oxford. 

The  next  event  of  importance  was  the  influence 
of  Henry  VIII.,  who  raised  Oxford  to  the  dignity 
of  a  see,  separating  it  from  the  Diocese  of  Lincoln. 
Wolsey  also  left  his  mark,  as  he  invariably  did 
wherever  he  went.  During  Henry  VIII. 's  reign 
Erasmus,  a  native  of  Holland,  came  to  Oxford  to 
aid  the  progress  of  learning. 

He  taught  Greek,  but  the  violence  of  the  popish 
party  drove  him  from  thence,  as  the  study  of  the 
ancient  language  was  deemed  a  dangerous  innova- 

[73] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

tion.  In  1555  Oxford  witnessed  the  terrible  death 
of  Latimer  and  Ridley,  condemned  to  be  burned 
at  the  stake.  Their  Protestant  tendencies  had 
incurred  Queen  Mary's  resentment,  and  a  brass 
cross  let  into  the  centre  of  the  road,  near  Balliol 
College,  marks  the  site,  and  is  a  pathetic  reminder 
of  their  martyrdom.  Soon  after  Cranmer  followed, 
recanting  all  belief  in  the  Pope's  supremacy,  and 
in  transubstantiation. 

In  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  Cranmer  was  in- 
strumental in  getting  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed, 
the  Commandments,  and  the  Litany  translated 
into  English,  for  hitherto  it  had  been  customary 
to  conduct  the  Church  services  in  Latin. 

In  1625  and  1665  king  and  Parliament  hur- 
riedly retreated  from  the  plague  in  London  to 
adjourn  to  Oxford.  In  the  Parliamentary  war 
Oxford  played  a  prominent  part,  and  in  1681 
Charles  II.  dissolved  Parliament  at  Westminster, 
only  to  assemble  a  new  one  in  the  university 
city. 

But  the  great  events  that  go  to  the  making 
of  England's  history  have  been  contributed  by 
men  whose  names  are  inscribed  upon  the  books  of 
the  various  colleges  of  Oxford.  The  Cathedral 
College,  Christ  Church,  claims  the  three  great 
English    revivalists:    Wycliffe ;    the    chief  of   the 

[74] 


OXFORD 

CHRISTCHURCH     GATEWAY 


OXFORD 

Lollards;  John  Wesley,  founder  of  Methodism; 
and  Pusey. 

Samuel  Wesley,  the  father  of  Samuel,  John, 
and  Charles,  entered  Exeter  College  as  a  "  pauper 
scholaris,'*  and  was  an  eminent  divine.  His  son 
Samuel,  the  intimate  associate  of  Pope,  Swift,  and 
Prior,  wrote  squibs  against  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  the 
Whigs,  and  the  Low  Church  divines,  and  was 
a  member  of  Christ  Church,  as  well  as  Charles. 
These  three  brothers  compiled  the  "  Book  of 
Psalms  and  Hymns,"  Charles  alone  composed  and 
published  some  four  thousand  hymns,  besides  leav- 
ing about  two  thousand  in  manuscript. 

Pusey,  born  near  Oxford  in  1800,  entered  as  a 
commoner  and  died  as  a  canon  of  Christ  Church, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-two. 

The  great  scholar  of  Corpus  Christi,  John  Keble, 
became  member  of  that  college  at  the  age  of  fif- 
teen, and  when  nineteen  was  elected  Fellow  of 
Oriel,  —  a  very  proud  distinction,  for  Oriel  was 
then  the  great  centre  of  the  most  famous  intellects 
in  Oxford. 

To  this  society  belonged  Copleston,  Davison, 
Whately,  and  soon  after  Keble's  election  Arnold, 
Pusey,  and  Newman  became  members.  Newman, 
whose  tendencies  were  in  turn  Evangelical  and 
Calvinistic,  to   become   finally   cardinal,   matricu- 

[77] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

lated  at  Trinity  College.  Amongst  other  famous 
members  of  Wolsey's  foundation  must  be  included 
the  statesmen  William  Gladstone  and  the  late 
Marquis  of  Salisbury. 

Other  distinguished  inmates  of  this  college  are 
Anthony  Ashley  Cooper,  the  seventh  earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  who  interested  himself  in  the  practical 
welfare  of  the  working  classes;  and  John  Ruskin, 
author  of  "  The  Stones  of  Venice,"  whose  father 
had  at  first  conceived  the  ambition  of  seeing  him 
become  bishop ;  Cecil  Rhodes,  the  Imperialist, 
whose  health  was  so  uncertain  that  at  one  time 
his  doctor  gave  him  only  six  months  to  live,  ac- 
quired wealth  in  South  Africa,  and  came  home  to 
be  admitted  to  Oriel,  Oxford. 

The  author  of  "  Alice  in  Wonderland,*'  under 
the  no77i  de  piuf?ie  of  **  Lewis  Carroll,"  was  also  a 
student  of  Christ  Church.  As  Charles  Lutridge 
Dodgson  he  wrote  many  important  works  on 
mathematics. 

These,  with  a  host  of  other  celebrated  men  of 
all  the  various  colleges,  have  all  shed  lustre  upon 
their  ah?ia  mater;  and,  as  long  as  old  traditions  be 
revered  and  followed,  Oxford  need  never  fear  a 
decline.  The  beautiful  buildings,  collegiate  and 
ecclesiastical,  the  wonderful  university  libraries, 
"The    Bodleian"    and    "The    Ashmolean,"    the 

[78] 


OXFORD 

sumptuous  plate  and  silver  of  the  colleges,  are 
some  of  the  great  features  of  this  cathedral 
city. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  this  prominent 
seat  of  learning. 


[79] 


^eterborougf) 

St.   Petrius  de  Burgh. 
("Doomsday   Book.") 


I  HIS  ancient  cathedral  city  of  Peterborough 
is  most  curiously  situated.  On  first  look- 
ing at  the  map  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
determine  off-hand  to  which  of  the  three  counties, 
Northamptonshire,  Huntingdonshire,  or  Cam- 
bridgeshire, it  belongs.  It  is  true  part  of  the 
city  lies  in  Huntingdonshire.  Happily  for  North- 
amptonshire, the  near  proximity  of  the  river 
Nene  probably  decided  the  worthy  monks  to  se- 
lect that  site  for  the  monastery.  It  was  dedicated 
to  St.  Peter,  whose  saintly  name  was  evidently 
borrowed  to  designate  the  name  of  the  borough, 
and  to  displace  the  original  appellation,  which  was 
Medeswelhamsted,  or  Medeshampsted,  taken  out 
of  compliment  to  a  whirlpool  in  the  river  Aufona, 
now  the  Nene.  Though  we  are  told  that  this 
monastery  was  founded,  about  655,  by  a  royal 
Christian  convert,  Paeda,  the  fifth  king  of  Mercia, 
and  finished  by  his  brother,  Wulfhere,  in  atone- 

[80] 


PETERBOROUGH 

ment  for  his  crime  in  connection  with  the  prema- 
ture death  of  his  sons  for  their  Christian  proclivities 
—  though  we  are  told  this,  nevertheless  we  are  in- 
clined to  think  that  the  worthy  brethren  were 
chiefly  responsible  for  the  selection  of  the  site. 

If  we  come  to  consider  closely  the  locality  of 
each  monastic  institution,  we  generally  stumble 
across  a  river,  however  small  and  humble  it  may 
appear.  And  why  is  this  ?  Simply  for  the  fish, 
which  was  carefully  preserved  and  encouraged  to 
multiply.  Even  to  this  day  all  monks,  nuns,  and 
strict  followers  of  the  Roman  Catholic  persuasion 
rigidly  adhere  to  the  observance  of  eating  fish, 
instead  of  flesh,  on  every  Friday  and  fast  day, 
though  nowadays  it  is  not  customary  for  them 
to  catch  fish  in  its  natural  element.  In  the  good 
old  days  the  holy  friars  had  to  depend  principally 
upon  the  yield  of  the  river  for  Friday's  require- 
ments, if  perchance  the  monastery  was  situated  far 
inland.  Travelling  in  medieval  times  was  some- 
what precarious  and  slow. 

This  monastery  would  be  in  all  probability  a 
wooden  erection  of  Anglo-Saxon  style.  Philolo- 
gists demonstrate  that  "getimbrian" — to  construct 
of  wood  —  was  the  Anglo-Saxon  word  for  "build." 
If  this  argument  holds  good,  it  accounts  not  only 
for  the  scarcity  of  Old  English  lapidary  remains,  but 
6  [8i] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

also  for  their  peculiar  character.  Till  the  arrival 
of  masons  in  672  from  the  continent,  the  buildings 
had  been  composed  mostly  of  wood  covered  with 
thatch.  Only  towards  the  close  of  the  tenth 
century,  with  a  better  knowledge  of  stone-work, 
did  architects  develop  a  definite  style  in  England. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  Danes,  about  the  middle 
of  the  ninth  century,  the  town  was  sacked,  the 
monks  were  massacred,  and  the  monastic  buildings 
were  burnt.  For  more  than  a  century  it  remained 
in  oblivion,  till  the  combined  efforts  of  Ethelwold, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  King  Edgar,  and  his  wealthy 
chancellor  Adulph,  produced  a  monastery,  over 
which,  in  recognition  of  his  pecuniary  assistance, 
Adulph  was  made  abbot.  As  usual,  the  Norman 
Conquest  left  its  mark  in  the  shape  of  a  castle  to 
protect  the  town,  and  to  instil  wholesome  awe  in 
the  English.  It  was  early  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
I.  that  a  fire  caused  great  injury  to  the  town  and 
monastery.  Though  deplorable,  as  it  at  first  ap- 
peared, it  nevertheless  gave  birth  to  the  present 
Norman  cathedral  church,  which  Abbot  Salisbury 
commenced  to  build  in  11 18,  two  years  after  the 
accident.  At  the  same  time  the  site  of  the  town 
was  transferred  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  monas- 
tery to  the  present  situation  north  of  the  Nene. 

Six  years  before  the  death  of  Henry  VIII.,  to 

[82] 


o 

O 

o 

ca 

Oh 


PETERBOROUGH 

wit,  in  1 54 1,  Peterborough  was  separated  from,  the 
Diocese  of  Lincoln  and  was  created  into  an  epis- 
copal see.  The  last  abbot  of  Peterborough  was 
appointed  first  bishop,  with  the  abbot's  house  as 
the  episcopal  palace,  and  the  monastery  church  as 
the  cathedral.  To  this  building,  the  Norman 
effort  of  Abbot  Salisbury,  was  grafted  the  architec- 
ture of  the  Early  English  style.  No  pen  can  so 
adequately  describe  the  magnificence  of  the  west 
front  of  this  cathedral  as  the  brush  of  Mr.  Collins. 
This  artist  has  done  full  justice  to  his  subject, 
which  has  evidently  been  a  work  of  love  to  him. 
In  his  rendering  he  has  both  successfully  caught 
the  true  spirit  of  the  church's  grandeur,  and  has 
managed  to  incorporate  his  distinct  individuality. 
Mr.  Collins  has  shown  the  same  qualities  with 
regard  to  the  "  market-place." 

The  three  lofty  and  beautiful  arches  of  this  west 
front  are  Early  English.  Perhaps  a  jarring  note 
to  its  fine  composition  is  the  small  porch,  over 
which  there  is  a  chapel  to  St.  Thomas  a  Becket. 

A  square  tower  at  the  north-west  angle  and 
another  similar  one  at  the  south-west  angle  of  the 
nave  enrich  the  general  effect.  The  nave  itself  is 
Norman,  and  is  separated  from  the  aisles  by  finely 
clustered  piers  and  arches  of  the  same  style,  but 
lighter  than  usual  in  character. 

[85] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

The  east  end  is  circular,  and  there  are  several 
chapels  of  the  English  style  subsequent  to  the 
Early  English.  They  are  elegantly  designed  with 
fan  tracery,  and  the  windows,  since  their  original 
foundation,  appear  to  have  been  enriched  with 
tracery. 

On  the  south  side  there  is  the  shrine  to  St. 
Tibba,  and  close  to  it  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was 
buried.  Her  remains  were  afterwards  exhumed 
and  removed  to  Westminster. 

The  north  side  was  graced  with  a  tomb  to 
Queen  Catherine  of  Arragon.  Uneasy  was  her 
rest,  for  Cromwell's  troops  laid  sacrilegious  hands 
on  the  tomb.  Her  royal  memory  is  now  perpetu- 
ated by  a  commonplace  marble  slab. 

Not  content  with  this  the  Roundheads,  as  the 
parliamentary  forces  were  called,  defaced  the 
Cathedral,  looted  its  plate  and  ornaments,  and 
pulled  down  part  of  the  cloisters,  the  chapter 
house,  and  the  episcopal  palace.  What  remains  of 
the  cloisters  exhibit  specimens  of  Early  Norman, 
down  to  the  later  periods  of  English  architecture, 
and  give  some  idea  of  their  former  grandeur. 

Besides  its  beauties,  this  cathedral  affords  an 
excellent  study  of  arches,  illustrating  the  subtleties 
of  every  transitional  period  in  architecture,  from 
Norman  to  perpendicular. 

[86] 


o  ^ 

o  ^ 

CQ  OS 

ti-1 

h  ^ 


PETERBOROUGH 

The  choir,  by  John  de  Sez,  is  Early  Norman. 
Martin  of  Bee  took  fifteen  years,  in  the  twelfth 
century,  to  realise  the  completion  of  the  aisles 
of  both  transepts.  The  remaining  portions  of  the 
transepts  and  the  central  tower  were  designed  by 
William  de  Waterville,  from  1155  to  1175. 

Unfortunately,  the  insecurity  of  this  tower 
caused  it  to  be  pulled  down  in  1883,  and  attempts 
were  immediately  made  to  substitute  another. 

The  nave  belongs  to  the  latter  part  of  the 
Norman  period.  To  be  correct,  its  date,  1 177  to 
1 193,  clearly  indicates  it  should  be  included  rather 
in  the  Transition  period,  which  was  then  trending 
towards  the  Lancet  of  Early  English. 

This  same  Transition  must  also  claim  the  western 
transepts  by  Abbot  Andrew,  1193  to  1200. 

The  painted  roof  of  wood,  added  by  Abbot 
Benedict,  11 77  to  1 193,  is  a  fair  example  of  the 
fashion  prevalent  in  Europe  at  that  period.  An- 
other object  of  interest  is  the  "  decorated  win- 
dows," which  were  placed  throughout  this  church 
in  the  fourteenth  century. 

A  distinctive  feature  is  the  existence  of  the 
"  Close,"  exhibiting  interesting  remains  of  English 
architecture.  To  more  thoroughly  ensure  the 
privacy  of  the  cathedral,  its  precincts  were  en- 
closed, very  much  like  a  college  at  a  university, 

[89] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

either  within  a  solid  wall  enclosure  or  generally 
surrounded  by  dwellings  for  the  ecclesiastics. 
Though  the  cathedral  might  be  in  the  densest 
quarter  of  the  town,  yet,  on  closing  its  gates,  it 
secured  complete  severance  from  the  city.  The 
cathedral  close  at  Salisbury  is  quite  the  best 
specimen  extant  in   England. 

En  passant  we  would  mention  among  the  many 
eminent  men  that  Peterborough  is  justly  proud  of, 
Benedict,  who  was  abbot  in  i  i8o,  and  founded  an 
hospital,  which  he  dedicated  to  St.  Thomas  a 
Becket,  whose  biographer  and  ardent  admirer  he 
was ;  and  an  eminent  English  historian  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  John,  abbot  of  the  monastery 
of  Peterborough  ;  Archdeacon  Paley,  a  celebrated 
divine  and  moralist,  who  died  in  1805;  and  Sir 
John  Hill,  a  popular  writer  in  the  eighteenth 
century. 

In  conclusion,  we  cannot  help  drawing  attention 
to  the  great  general,  statesman,  and  contemporary 
of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who  was  called  after 
this  city,  and  known  in  the  reigns  of  Anne  and 
George  I.  The  title  of  Earl  of  Peterborough  was 
conferred  by  Charles  I.  on  the  family  of  Mordaunt, 
and  worthily  borne  by  the  celebrated  soldier- 
statesman. 

[90] 


St.  Albanus. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

aNDER  the  title  of"  Oppidum,'*  the  strong- 
hold of  Cassivelaunus,  St.  Albans  is  fre- 
quently mentioned  by  Cssar  and  Tacitus. 
At  the  time  of  Caesar's  first  visit  to  England, 
which  was  in  46  b.  c,  the  Britons  led  a  wandering 
life,  and  it  was  only  in  war  time  that  they  gathered 
together  and  took  refuge  in  towns.  Tacitus  and 
Cssar  describe  the  Britons  as  people  who  had  no 
cities,  towns,  or  buildings  of  any  durable  materials. 
The  sites  of  their  towns  were  chosen  with  a  view 
to  turning  to  good  account  all  the  assistance  that 
Nature  could  lend,  such  as  woods,  ditches,  and 
bogs. 

Though  Caesar  names  no  particular  town,  yet 
he  describes  his  attack,  and  occupation  of  the 
**  Oppidum  '*  over  which  Cassivelaunus  was  the 
chief.  And  from  what  is  known  of  the  progress 
and  distance  of  Cssar  from  the  Thames,  there 
seems  no  doubt  that  "  Verulamium,"  as  it  was  then 

[91] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

and  afterwards  called,  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
stronghold  of  the  Britons.  It  was  situated  on  the 
low  ground  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Ver.  Caesar's 
occupation  was  brief.  Until  the  conquest  of  Britain 
by  Claudius  in  43  a.  d.  it  remained  an  important 
city  in  the  hands  of  the  Britons.  Finally,  in 
420  A.  D.,  the  Romans  quitted  Britain.  During 
their  stay  they  had  greatly  opened  up  the  country, 
constructing  the  famous  high  roads,  one  of  which 
is  the  great  North  Road,  called  Watling  Street, 
which  stretches  from  London  to  York. 

In  the  fifth  century  Verulamium,  as  we  shall 
still  continue  to  call  St.  Albans  for  a  while,  was 
occupied  by  the  Saxons.  They  changed  the  site 
of  the  Roman  city  from  the  low  ground,  on  which 
now  stands  the  Church  of  St.  Michael,  to  the 
higher  ground.  At  the  same  time  they  renamed 
it  Watling-ceaster,  after  Watling  Street,  which 
passed  through  it. 

From  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Verulamium 
arose  in  the  tenth  century  the  celebrated  monastery 
in  honour  of  St.  Alban.  To  account  for  the  erec- 
tion of  this  building  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  brief 
sketch  of  its  patron  saint. 

During  the  Diocletian  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians, in  the  year  304  a.  d.,  a  distinguished  citizen, 
Alban  of  Verulamium,  of  Roman  origin,  but  con- 

[92]' 


ST.    ALBANS 

verted  to  Christianity,  suffered  martyrdom  for 
giving  shelter  to  Amphibalus,  a  Christian.  For 
this  crime  he  was  executed  on  the  site  of  the 
present  abbey,  and  in   772  was  canonised. 

Nearly  five  hundred  years  after,  in  793,  Offa, 
the  King  of  Mercia,  was  very  much  exercised  in 
mind  as  to  the  best  means  of  expiating  his  murder 
of  iEthelbert. 

Greatly  to  his  relief,  he  was  bidden  in  a  vision 
to  seek  the  remains  of  St.  Alban,  and  over  them, 
when  found,  to  erect  a  monastery.  In  accordance 
with  these  instructions  he,  with  Higbert,  Arch- 
bishop of  Lichfield,  the  Bishops  of  Leicester  and 
Lindsey,  and  a  huge  assembly  of  clergy  and  laity, 
visited  the  hill,  where  the  "  Proto-martyr  of  Eng- 
land," as  St.  Alban  came  to  be  known,  had  suffered. 
There  the  holy  remains  were  discovered.  Over 
them  Offa  founded  the  abbey,  with  a  monastery  for 
one  hundred  monks  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict. 

The  present  abbey  really  dates  from  the  eleventh 
century.  At  the  close  of  the  tenth  century  the 
ruins  of  the  old  Roman  city  of  Verulamium  were 
broken  up  to  serve  as  materials  for  the  new  church 
buildings.  But  owing  to  the  unsettled  character 
of  the  times  the  erection  was  delayed,  till  William 
the  Conqueror  was  firmly  possessed  of  the  throne, 

[93] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

when  Paul  of  Caen,  a  relative  of  Archbishop  Lan- 
franc,  was  appointed  abbot  in  1077.  He  built  the 
magnificent  Norman  structure,  based  upon  the 
plans  of  St.  Stephen's,  Caen  —  the  same  church 
which  served  as  a  model  for  Lanfranc,  when  he 
built  Canterbury. 

Though  finished  for  some  years  past,  it  was  only 
consecrated  in  1 1 15. 

As  was  invariably  the  custom,  the  church  was 
built  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  In  this  connection  it 
is  interesting  to  note  the  evolution  of  the  cross. 

Prior  to  the  Christian  era  the  cross  was  looked 
upon  with  disfavour. 

To  be  crucified  was  to  undergo  a  most  ignomin- 
ious form  of  punishment,  and  it  was  only  served  out 
to  malefactors  of  the  worst  description.  Nothing 
short  of  this  would  have  been  a  sufficient  check  in 
those  times  to  the  growth  of  vice.  But  in  the 
early  days  of  Christianity  the  cross  came  to  be 
regarded  as  the  holiest  symbol  of  "  The  Sacrifice  " 
made  for  the  good  of  mankind. 

When  converts  met  they  formed  on  the  ground 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  in  order  to  distinguish  friends 
from  foes.  The  mere  fact  of  a  severe  punishment 
meted  out  consequent  on  discovery  of  this  secret 
passport  served  only  to  increase  the  reverence  held 
for  the  symbol. 

[94] 


CO 

< 


ST.    ALBANS 

As  soon  as  time  and  opportunity  allowed  places 
of  worship  were  erected,  and  the  natural  form 
adopted  would  be  that  of  the  cross,  for  which  they 
had  suffered  so  much  persecution,  and  which  typi- 
fied the  foundation  of  their  faith  and  hopes  of 
salvation. 

As  they  assembled  in  church  they  would  be 
sensible  of  the  prevailing  influence  of  the  emblem. 
In  every  direction,  look  where  they  would,  they 
would  always  see  the  holy  sign.  The  roof  would 
reveal  to  the  gaze  the  same  form  as  that  on  the 
ground. 

Even  the  walls,  as  they  soared  upwards,  out- 
lined, tier  upon  tier,  the  Christian  sign,  capped  at 
the  last  by  a  mighty  cross,  which  cast  its  protecting 
shadows  around  and  over  the  worshippers. 

The  altar  came  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
cross.  The  transept,  crossing  it  at  right  angles, 
formed  the  arms,  and  the  nave  the  upright. 

The  altar  was  always  situated  at  the  east  end, 
again  illustrating  a  link  with  the  pagan  times, 
when  worshippers  turned  towards  the  sun. 

As  time  progressed  chapels  were  erected  along 
the  sides,  causing  the  walls  to  be  pierced  and 
arched.  These  chapels  were  in  honour,  firstly,  of 
"  The  Blessed  Virgin,"  and  then  of  the  leaders  of 
"  The  Faith,"  who  had  been  canonised  as  saints 

7  [97] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

on  account  of  martyrdom.  But  the  main  building 
was  always  dedicated  to  the  "  God  Head." 

By  a  special  grant  in  1154,  given  by  Pope 
Adrian  IV.,  who  was  born  near  St.  Albans,  and  who 
was  the  only  Englishman  ever  appointed  to  the 
Papal  See,  the  abbots  of  St.  Albans  were  allowed 
the  privilege  of  wearing  a  mitre.  Added  to  this 
dignity  he  was  given  precedence  over  all  in  Eng- 
land, whether  they  were  king,  archbishop,  bishop, 
or  legate.  He  also  exercised  supreme  episcopal 
jurisdiction  over  all  clergy  and  laity  in  all  lands 
pertaining  to  the  monastery. 

The  first  abbot  was  Willgod,  nominated  by 
King  Offa. 

The  last  one  was  Richard  Boreman,  otherwise 
Stevenache. 

In  all  there  were  forty-one  from  the  foundation 
to  the  suppression,  which  took  place  in  1534.  In 
that  year  the  monastery  was  seized  by  Henry  VIII., 
who  allowed  pensions  to  the  monks,  and  an  an- 
nuity  to   the  abbot. 

About  1480  the  abbey  was  amongst  the  first  in 
England  to  set  up  a  printing  press.  On  this  the 
first  English  translation  of  the  Bible  was  printed. 

In  spite  of  every  loving  care  exercised,  the  relics 
of  St.    Alban    enjoyed   little   rest.       In   Wulruth's 

[98] 


ST.    ALBANS 

reign  as  fourth  abbot,  the  abbey  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  the  Danes.  They  carried  away  with 
them  the  bones  of  "the  Proto-martyr  "  to  Denmark, 
and  there  placed  them  in  a  convent  at  Owenses. 
They  were  found  and  brought  back  to  the 
abbey. 

Again,  seventy  years  later,  the  Danes  ravaged 
the  country.  But  this  time  iElfric  II.,  eleventh 
abbot,  resorted  to  artifice.  He  hid  the  bones  in 
the  walls  of  the  church,  and  sent  bogus  relics  to 
the  monastery  at  Ely,  giving  the  monks  special 
charges  to  guard  them  well.  On  the  retirement 
of  the  Danes  from  the  country,  iElfric  sent  post 
haste  to  reclaim  these  bones.  Ely  at  first  demurred, 
but,  giving  way  in  the  end,  sent  back  some  sub- 
stituted bones.     This  disquieted  the  saint. 

He  appeared  to  Gilbert,  a  Benedictine  monk, 
and  to  him  disclosed  the  fraud,  enjoining  him  to 
bring  to  light  the  true  bones  from  their  hiding- 
place.  This  was  solemnly  done.  But  Ely  un- 
expectedly disclosed  the  artifice  they  had  practised, 
and  claimed  that  they  were  in  possession  of  the 
true  relics. 

As  neither  party  would  yield,  "  the  relics  of  St. 
Alban"  for  a  hundred  years  received  reverential 
and  impartial  homage  both  at  St.  Albans  and  at 
Ely.     Eventually  Ely   disclaimed   their  right,  on 

[99] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  appeal  of  Robert  de  Gorham,  the  eighteenth 
abbot,  to  the  Pope. 

,  In  the  history  of  the  "  Wars  of  the  Roses,"  the 
city  of  St.  Albans  played  a  prominent  part. 

In  1455  Henry  VI.  set  up  his  royal  standard  on 
the  north  side  of  the  town,  whilst  the  Yorkists, 
under  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
the  "  Kingmaker,'*  encamped  in  the  fields  east  of 
the  town. 

On  May  3  of  the  same  year  in  Holywell  Street 
and  its  adjacent  roads  fought  the  two  armies  to 
decide  the  succession  to  the  English  throne.  The 
Yorkists  gained  the  victory.  The  king  was  taken 
a  wounded  prisoner. 

On  February  17,  1461,  St.  Albans  was  for  the 
«econd  time  the  scene  of  a  terrible  battle.  The 
Lancastrians,  with  Queen  Margaret  at  their  head, 
defeated  the  Yorkists  under  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
and  restored  Henry  VI.  to  the  throne. 

The  principal  portions  now  in  existence  of  the 
original  Norman  church  by  Paul  of  Caen  are  the 
tower,  the  eastern  bays  of  the  nave,  and  the  tran- 
septs. Though  it  exhibits  specimens  of  architec- 
ture of  different  periods,  and  has  undergone  much 
restoration,  the  main  architectural  outlines,  as 
conceived  by  Paul,  have  been  adhered  to  all  the 
time. 

[  100] 


ST.    ALBANS 

Within  recent  years  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  succeeded 
by  Sir  Edmund  Beckett,  made  extensive  renova- 
tions. The  only  reminder  of  the  once  vast  mo- 
nastic buildings  is  the  great  gateway,  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  west  entrance  to  the  abbey. 


[lOl] 


m 


WitlU 

Welle. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

<*  y^y-  ■  ELLS,  a  city,  having  separate  jurisdic- 
tion, locally  in  the  hundred  of  Wells- 
Forum,  County  of  Somerset."  Thus 
runs  a  description  of  this  place,  and  is  a  fair  sample 
of  most  cities.  We  think  a  little  explanation  anent 
"  the  hundred  "  may  possibly  make  that  term  more 
clear  of  understanding,  and  may  not  be  amiss. 
The  description,  short  as  it  is,  has  quite  a  con- 
densed history  of  its  own,  but  only  conveys  a  hazy 
idea  of  the  status  of  the  city. 

In  the  days  of  heathenism,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  England  was  partitioned  into  several 
kingdoms,  the  size  of  which  was  regulated  by 
the  might  of  their  respective  kings.  Each  tribe, 
or  kingdom,  was  ruled  by  a  tribal  chief,  or  folk- 
king.  He  was  chosen  by  the  tribe,  and  the  king- 
ship became  in  time  practically  hereditary.  To 
maintain  his  power  he  had  to  respect  and  keep  the 
customs  of  his  people.     Without  their  consent  he 

[  102] 


WELLS 


CATHEDRAL   AND   THE   POOLS 


WELLS 

could  pass  no  law ;  he  could  touch  no  freeman's 
life  or  heritage  without  consent  of  law,  which 
gave  the  freeman  the  right  of  defending  his  cause 
before  his  fellow-freemen ;  he  presided,  at  regular 
annual  intervals,  at  the  folk-moot,  or  tribal  assem- 
bly, and  at  the  great  feasts  and  sacrifices.  Counsel- 
lors and  wise  men  assisted  the  king  with  advice. 
His  marriages  were  the  result  of  favourable  and 
pacific  negotiations  with  other  tribes.  He  was 
called  upon  to  travel  throughout  his  kingdom  and 
see  that  justice  was  properly  administered  and 
evil  and  oppression  suppressed.  He  was  almost 
regarded  as  a  demi-god,  and  his  crimes  were  sup- 
posed to  be  punished  by  the  gods,  who  denied 
good  seasons  and  brought  about  other  calamities. 
The  king  was  allowed  a  little  army,  or  comitatus 
as  it  was  called,  of  paid  retainers,  to  maintain 
adequate  discipline,  and  to  form  his  bodyguard. 
These  kings,  chosen  by  the  people  at  the  tribal- 
moot,  in  heathen  times  were  throned  on  the  holy 
stone  and  carried  about  on  a  shield,  and  in  Chris- 
tian times  were  consecrated.  In  accordance  with 
the  extension  of  the  West  Saxon  kingdom,  which 
became  the  kingdom  of  the  English,  the  court  in- 
creased. At  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  a  treasurer, 
a  chancellor,  and  other  officials  looking  after  the 
king's  plate,  clothes,  and  horses  were  added  to  the 

[  105  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

royal  household.  When  in  addition  to  these  were 
added  the  bishops,  abbots,  and  the  aldermen,  who 
had  succeeded  the  tribal  kings  in  the  several  "folks," 
or  "  shires,"  on  their  absorption  into  the  West 
Saxon  kingdom,  the  king  was  recognised  as  the 
head  of  the  Witema-gemot,  or  Concilium  Sapien- 
tium,  as  the  "  meeting  of  wisemen  "  was  called. 
In  the  tenth  century  the  king  no  longer  went 
about  to  get  the  consent  of  each  folk-moot  to 
a  certain  law,  but  convened  the  heads  of  each 
shire-moot  at  some  convenient  central  spot.  This 
convening  of  moots,  or  Mycel-gemot,  became  the 
Magnum  Concilium  of  the  Normans,  and  in  the 
thirteenth  century  developed  into  the  High  Courts 
and  Parliament.  Beneath  the  shire-moots  came 
the  "hundred-moots,"  and  later  on  the  "hall- 
moots."  The  origin  of  the  "hundred"  appears, 
by  some  authorities,  to  be  based  on  the  military 
organisation.  It  is  supposed,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  be  a  grouping  of  a  sufficient  number  of  free 
homesteads  to  furnish  at  least  one  hundred  and 
twenty  fully-armed  freemen  for  war  service,  and  to 
supply  full-qualified  jurors  for  the  cases  of  the  dis- 
trict. This  hundred-moot  was  presided  over  by 
a  lord  or  an  hundred-elder,  and  discharged  the 
duties  for  the  district  much  in  the  same  way  as 
the  shire-moot  did  for  the  county.      It  was  a  crimi- 

[io6] 


WELLS 

nal  and  civil  court  with  its  grand  jury,  and  en- 
forced the  attendance  of  persons  from  each  manor 
within  the  hundred.  When  the  king  was  absent 
from  the  shire-moot,  the  "  ealdorman  "  (alderman) 
of  the  shire  presided,  and  to  watch  the  royal  in- 
terests was  nominated  the  "  shire-reeve,"  or  sheriff 
(scirgerefa),  chosen  from  the  better  class  of  the 
freeholders.  We  are  told  that  the  laws  of  Ens;- 
land  were  far  in  advance  of  those  in  France.  In 
fact,  the  English  had  written  laws  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest,  and  the  Normans  had  none.  It 
hardly  seems  credible  that  the  conquered  were,  in 
some  respects,  more  civilised  than  their  conquerors. 

It  was  only  after  the  Conquest  that  the  "  Dooms- 
day Book  "  came  into  existence.  After  the  Con- 
quest the  sheriff  became  simply  a  royal  officer. 
He  was  the  financial  representative  of  the  Crown 
within  his  district.  Now  his  financial  duties  no 
longer  exist,  and  his  judicial  are  almost  nil.  Our 
general  knowledge  of  him  is  that  he  is  supposed 
to  be  in  at  the  death  of  a  murderer,  and  that  he 
is  somehow  or  other  associated  with  the  bailiff 
— sheriff's  officer,  as  he  is  styled. 

Mr.  Collins  presents  us  with  three  interesting 
graphic  descriptions.  This  city  owes  its  name  to  the 
numerous  springs,  and  more  particularly  to  that  of 
St.  Andrew's  Well,  whose  water,  rising  in  the  vicin- 

[  109  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ity  of  the  episcopal  palace,  flows  through  the  south- 
western part  of  the  city.  Ina,  King  of  the  West 
Saxons,  named  it  thus.  He,  in  704,  founded  a 
collegiate  church  and  dedicated  it  to  St.  Andrew 
the  Apostle. 

This  foundation  was  handsomely  endowed  by 
Cynewulf  in  766,  and  flourished  till  905.  Wells 
was  then  erected  into  a  see.  This  change  was 
consequent  on  an  edict  of  Edward  the  Elder  for 
the  revival  of  religion,  which  had  been  brought 
down  to  a  low  ebb  by  the  frequent  and  terrible 
incursions  of  the  Danes.  To  combat  this  state  of 
things,  Pligrund,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  con- 
secrated several  new  bishops,  of  whom  Aldhelm, 
formerly  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  became  first 
bishop  of  Wells. 

Edward  the  Confessor  made  his  chaplain,  Giso, 
the  thirteenth  bishop  to  the  See,  and  at  the  same 
time  enriched  it  by  the  confiscated  property  of 
Godwin,  Earl  of  Kent,  and  Harold,  Earl  of  Wessex, 
his  son,  whom  he  had  driven  into  exile.  Harold,  in 
spite  of  his  exile,  made  an  incursion  into  Somerset- 
shire, levied  mail  on  his  former  tenantry,  and  eased 
the  church  of  its  treasures. 

In  the  meantime  Giso  was  being  consecrated  at 
Rome.  On  his  return  he  was  fortunate  enough  to 
gain  some  compensation  from  the  queen,  who  was 

[  iio] 


WELLS 

sister  to  Harold.  But,  unfortunately  for  Giso, 
Harold  was  again  received  into  favour.  He 
promptly  procured  the  banishment  of  Giso,  and 
on  his  succession  later  to  the  throne  straightway 
resumed  all  his  estates,  which  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor had  granted  to  the  Church,  and  thus  im- 
poverished the  See. 

Bishop  Giso's  opportunity  came  with  the  Con- 
quest, when  he  was  reinstated.  William,  in  his 
second  year  of  reign,  restored  to  the  Bishopric, 
with  some  small  deduction,  all  Harold's  estates. 
Giso  augmented  the  number  of  canons,  and  built  a 
cloister,  hall,  and  dormitory,  and  enlarged  and 
beautified  the  choir  of  the  Cathedral.  John  de 
Villula,  his  successor,  swept  away  these  buildings, 
and  on  their  site  built  a  palace. 

Villula's  name  in  ecclesiastical  history  is  closely 
associated  with  a  memorable  event  which  caused 
considerable  commotion  and  rivalry  between  the 
inhabitants  of  Wells  and  Bath.  He  removed  the 
See  of  the  diocese  to  Bath,  and  assumed  the  title  of 
Bishop  of  Bath.  Feeling  ran  high,  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  was  appealed  to.  His  inge- 
nuity proposed  that  the  prelates  should  be  styled 
**  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,"  that  an  equal  number 
of  delegates  from  both  cities  should  elect  him,  and 
that  their  installation  should   take  place  in  both 

[III] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

churches.  Yet,  later,  the  determination  of  the 
diocese's  headquarters  became  again  a  vexed  ques- 
tion, under  Bishop  Savaricus,  who  was  closely  allied 
to  the  Emperor  of  Austria. 

Richard  I.'s  liberty  was  granted  him  by  the 
Emperor  of  Austria  on  one  condition  besides  the 
ransom,  that  the  then  vacant  Abbey  of  Glaston- 
bury should  be  annexed  to  the  See  of  Bath  and 
Wells.  Savaricus  afterwards  changed  the  seat  of 
his  diocese  to  Glastonbury,  and  styled  himself 
Bishop  of  Glastonbury.  The  seat  was  finally  settled 
in  I  205,  after  his  death,  by  the  monks  under  his 
successor,  Joscelyne  de  Wells.  Glastonbury  peti- 
tioned Rome,  favourably,  to  be  reinstated  as  an 
abbey,  on  condition  of  relinquishing  a  handsome 
portion  of  its  revenue  to  the  See. 

Joscelyne  assumed  the  bishopric  title  of  Bath 
and  Wells,  which  has  remained  to  this  day.  The 
death  of  this  prelate  was  the  signal  for  further 
dispute  in  another  direction.  The  monks  of  Bath 
endeavoured  to  exercise,  in  opposition  to  the  Canon 
of  Wells,  the  right  of  electing  the  successor  to  the 
See.  All  dispute  was  settled  by  the  Pope,  who 
managed  to  draw  closer  the  union  of  the  churches. 
At  the  Reformation  the  monastery  of  Bath  was 
suppressed,  and  though  the  name  of  the  See  was 
retained,  all  ecclesiastical  authority  and  the  right 

[  112] 


WELLS 

THE  RUINS  OF  THE  BANQUETING  HALL 


WELLS 

of  electing  the  Bishop  were  vested  in  the  Dean 
and  Chapter  of  Wells,  which  then  became  the  sole 
chapter  of  the  Diocese. 

The  Chapter  House  is  a  beautiful  octagonal 
building,  each  side  measuring  fifty  feet.  Its  finely- 
groined  roof  is  held  up  by  a  central  clustered 
column  of  Purbeck  marble.  Beneath  it  there  is  a 
crypt  displaying  a  very  good  example  of  plain 
groining. 

The  foundation  of  the  present  Cathedral  was 
laid  by  Wiffeline,  the  second  bishop  of  the  diocese, 
and  completed  by  Bishop  Joscelyne  in  i  239.  This 
cruciform  structure  was  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew. 
On  the  south  the  cloisters  form  three  sides  of  a 
quadrangle.  The  prevailing  style  of  the  architec- 
ture of  this  church  is  the  Early  English,  with 
the  introduction  of  the  Decorated  and  subsequent 
periods. 

The  west  front  is  divided  into  compartments 
by  buttresses,  and  is  richly  embellished  with  cano- 
pied niches,  containing  statues  of  kings,  popes, 
cardinals,  bishops,  and  abbots.  Even  the  mullions 
of  the  west  window  and  the  lower  stages  of  the 
western  towers  are  similarly  treated.  These  towers, 
like  the  central  tower,  are  crowned  with  parapets 
elegantly  pierced.  The  nave  and  transepts  dis- 
play the  grand  simplicity  and  elegance  of  the  Early 

[115] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

English  style.  The  former  is  separated  from  the 
aisles  by  a  series  of  clustered  columns  and  finely 
pointed  arches,  above  which  are  placed  a  triforium 
of  lancet-shaped  arches,  and  a  range  of  clerestory 
windows  with  elegant  tracery  in  the  Later  English 
style  inserted. 

The  choir  belongs  to  the  Decorated  style. 

The  Cathedral  contains  several  chapels.  In  one 
there  is  the  ancient  clock  from  Glastonbury.  It 
has  an  astronomical  dial,  and  figures  of  knights 
in  armour  are  set  in  motion  by  machinery.  An 
ancient  font  in  the  south  transept  is  of  the  same 
date  as  this  portion  of  the  Cathedral. 

Of  monuments  there  is  the  elaborate  effigy  of 
Bishop  Beckington ;  and  in  the  choir  the  grave- 
stone of  Bishop  Joscelyne  is  the  sole  relic  of  what 
was  once  an  imposing  marble  monument  bearing  a 
brass  effigy.  In  the  centre  of  the  nave  King  Ina 
was  buried. 

The  hall,  by  Villula,  was  demolished  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.  for  the  sake  of  its  materials. 
Its  remains  even  now  clearly  indicate  its  original 
splendour.  In  length  it  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet. 

On  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  Henry 
VIII.  remodelled  the  then  existing  establishment 
and  refounded  it.     This  monarch's  name  reminds 

[ii6] 


WELLS 

us  that  Cardinal  Wolsey  and  Archbishop  Laud 
were  prelates  of  this  see.  The  eminent  historian, 
Polydore  Vergil,  was  archdeacon  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  in  the  year  1634  was  born  in  this 
city  pious  Dr.  George  Bull,  Bishop  of  St.  David's. 
The  history  of  the  See  is  the  history  of  the 
city. 


["7] 


lEorcester 

Wire  est  ra. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

HPART  from  its  beautiful  Cathedral,  this 
ancient  city  has  gained  notoriety  from  its 
famous  manufacture  of  porcelain.  Who 
is  there  who  has  not  heard  of  "  Old  Worcester  '* 
china  ?  From  the  experiments  of  china  clay,  china 
stone  from  Cornwall,  feldspar  from  Sweden,  fire- 
clay from  Stourbridge  and  Broseley,  marl,  flint, 
and  calcined  bones.  Dr.  Wall  evolved  those  exqui- 
site creations  of  Worcester  china  which  now  claim 
universal  admiration  and  obtain  fabulous  prices. 

It  has  been  said  that  for  political  reasons  the 
joint  efforts  of  Dr.  Wall,  a  physician  ;  William 
Davies,  an  apothecary;  and  Edward  Cave,  the 
founder  of  The  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  gave  birth  to 
the  foundation  of  the  Worcester  Porcelain  Com- 
pany. This  desirable  event  took  place  in  1751, 
six  years  after  the  invasion  of  the  Pretender's 
armed  forces,  which  penetrated  as  far  as  Derby. 
Whether  the  establishment  of  this  industry  helped 

[118] 


WORCESTER 

George  II. 's  party  to  gain  votes  in  the  county 
against  the  numerous  supporters  of  the  Pretender, 
who  made  their  presence  felt  in  Worcester,  or  not, 
is  now  of  little  consequence.  The  existence  of 
this  branch  of  art  clearly  demonstrates  the  insecure 
footing  of  politics,  and  asserts  the  triumph  of  its 
founders. 

Mr.  Collins  gives  us  another  proof  that  "  art  is 
long"  by  his  skilful  rendering  of  the  beautiful 
portion  of  Worcester  Cathedral  here  shown. 

At  the  period  of  the  Roman  invasion  of  England, 
two  British  tribes,  the  Cornavii  and  Dobuni,  were 
in  part  ownership  of  Worcestershire.  This  British 
settlement  was  promptly  annexed  by  the  Romans 
as  a  military  station,  and  was  included  in  the  division 
called  Flavia  Cssariensis.  They  named  it  Vigorna, 
but  being  low  and  woody  it  offered  little  attraction 
to  them,  and  received  little  attention  at  their  hands. 
With  the  establishment  of  the  Saxon  Octarchy  this 
territory  became  included  in  the  kingdom  of 
Mercia.  Like  many  of  the  English  towns  that 
served  as  Roman  military  posts,  the  Saxons  grafted 
the  Roman  appellation  "  cester "  for  a  camp,  to 
Wigorna. 

Wigorna-cester  gradually  changed  to  Worcester. 
The  city's  advancement  was  temporarily  checked 
by  the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  who  burnt  it  more 

I  119] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

than  once.  In  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  Bishop 
of  Lichfield,  the  See  of  the  city  was  founded  by- 
Archbishop  Theodore,  in  673,  though  not  finally 
established  till  780.  It  then  severed  its  connection 
with  the  See  of  Lichfield. 

Save  for  predatory  incursions  of  the  Danes, 
especially  on  two  occasions,  when  the  Dane  chief 
Canute  was,  in  i  o  1 6,  defeated  by  Edmund  Ironsides 
near  Blockley;  and  at  another  time,  when  the 
Danes  deemed  it  necessary,  in  1 041,  to  punish  the 
Saxons  for  refusing  to  pay  them  tribute  called 
"  danegelt,"  —  save  for  these  little  misfortunes, 
little  else  interfered  with  the  gradual  growth  of  the 
city's  prosperity. 

Naturally,  with  increased  prosperity,  the  city 
freed  itself  from  bondage  to  Danes.  At  the  date 
of  the  Conquest  it  had  even  attained  sufficient  im- 
portance to  have  a  mint.  The  existence  of  various 
English  mints  at  that  period,  as  shown  here,  and  in 
Oxford  and  other  towns,  according  to  their  impor- 
tance and  the  exigencies  of  the  neighbourhood, 
must  have  been  solely  due  to  the  geographical  par- 
tition of  England. 

Prior  to  the  Conquest  we  notice  the  frequent 
distribution  and  redistribution  of  England  into 
kingdoms,  in  ratio  to  the  superior  power  or  strata- 
gem of  one  king  over  another. 

[  120] 


WORCESTER 

By  this  is  made  evident  the  lack  of  unity  and 
support  against  the  common  foe,  the  foreign  in- 
vader. Each  kingdom  of  necessity  issued  its  own 
currency,  besides  framing  its  own  laws  to  suit  the 
character  of  the  subjects  and  the  nature  of  the 
surroundings. 

Though  each  king  attempted  to  restore  this 
chaos  to  order  by  the  simple  process  of  grabbing 
his  neighbours'  land  during  the  intermission  of 
hostilities  against  foreign  invaders,  it  was  only 
Alfred  the  Great  who  really  attempted  some 
scheme  of  unity  —  and  then  failed  to  accomplish 
what  seemed  an  impossibility.  But  this  impos- 
sibility was  entirely  overcome  by  William  the 
Conqueror,  who  straightway  grasped  the  situation. 
He  erected  castles  everywhere,  with  the  twofold 
purpose  of  curbing  the  Saxons  and  keeping  out 
their  former  foes.  Under  his  rule  internal  dissen- 
sions were  quelled,  effete  customs  were  abolished, 
new  and  necessary  laws  were  introduced,  archi- 
tecture was  encouraged,  trade  was  fostered,  and  a 
recognised  currency  was  adopted.  All  this  can  be 
readily  gathered  at  a  glance  into  that  marvellous 
book  he  caused  to  be  drawn  up,  called  "  Doomsday 
Book."  In  it  a  correct  valuation  of  all  property, 
from  the  noble  lord's  down  to  the  agricultural 
implements  of  the  peasant,   is  entered,  with   the 

[121] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

position  of  every  church  and  castle  extant  con- 
spicuously marked  on  the  chart  in  Latin.  He 
wished  to  thoroughly  gauge  the  resources  of  his 
recent  conquest.  With  this  information  he  gained 
an  index  to  the  complete  establishment  of  his 
sovereignty  over  England.  This  may  be  con- 
sidered a  digression,  but  we  submit  that  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  wonderful  change  that  took  place 
under  this  monarch  is  essential  to  the  right  under- 
standing of  the  history  alike  of  cathedral  and 
city.  No  other  reigning  prince  of  England, 
before  or  since  William's  reign,  has  left  such 
lasting  evidences  of  his  personality  except  it  be 
Henry  VIII.,  who  is  inseparable  with  the  disso- 
lution  of  the  monasteries. 

The  drawing  of  Mr.  Collins  gives  an  excellent 
idea  of  the  character  of  Worcester  Cathedral. 
Its  site  is  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  Severn, 
and  is  the  most  important  building  of  the  city. 
Yet  it  cannot  be  compared  to  the  massive  grandeur 
of  Ripon.  Though  its  beauty  could  not  entirely 
be  marred  by  restoration,  yet,  having  been  allowed 
to  get  out  of  repair,  the  task  was  entrusted  in  1857 
to  Mr.  Perkins,  the  cathedral  architect.  He  has 
managed  to  sweep  away  a  great  part  of  the  old 
work,  and  in  some  instances  has  replaced  the  ori- 
ginal by  conjectural  work  of  Early  English  style. 

[  122  ] 


WORCESTER 

But  to  revert  to  the  early  stages  of  the  Cathedral. 
Bishop  Oswald  appears  to  have  absorbed  the  sec- 
ular monks  of  St.  Peter's,  the  Bishop's  church,  into 
a  monastery  of  St.  Mary,  thereby  changing  the 
secular  state  of  the  canons  to  that  of  the  monastic. 
This  bishop,  in  983,  finished  the  building  of  a 
new  monastic  cathedral. 

By  the  time  that  the  Normans  cast  their  in- 
fluence over  Worcester,  Bishop  Wulfstan  had 
gained  so  much  fame  for  saintliness  that  it  is 
recorded  he  was  the  only  English  prelate  left  in 
charge  of  his  see.  But  subsequent  history  some- 
what discounts  his  holy  character  and  demonstrates 
his  readiness  to  conform  with  new  customs. 

He  met  the  Normans  half-way  by  undertaking 
to  build  a  great  church  of  stone,  after  the  Norman 
style  of  architecture. 

In  1088  he  suffered  interruption  through 
Welsh  raids,  but  finally  signalised  the  end  of 
his  labours  by  holding  a  synod  in  the  crypt  in 
1094. 

Another  notable  foundation  of  his  is  the  Com- 
mandery,  in  1095,  believed  to  be  one  of  the  rarest 
specimens  of  early  house  architecture  now  extant. 
We  cannot  be  too  grateful  for  his  contribution  to 
church  architecture,  though  only  the  outer  walls 
of  the  nave,  the  aisles,  a  part  of  the  transept  walls, 

[125] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

some  shafts,  and  the  crypt  remain  as  evidences  of 
his  Norman  adaptabiUty. 

Here  it  is  well  to  accentuate  the  fact  that  the 
crypt  (1084)  is  apsidal,  and  that  only  three  other 
examples  of  this  style  exist,  namely  at  Winchester, 
Gloucester,  and  Canterbury,  all  dating  within  the 
last  twenty  years  of  the  eleventh  century. 

The  nave  (1175)  was  much  injured  by  the 
collapse  of  the  central  tower.  In  the  meanwhile, 
though  dead  some  two  hundred  years,  the  saintly 
character  of  Wulfstan  suffered  no  diminution,  and 
was  turned  to  profitable  use  by  the  monks  soon 
after  1203,  the  year  of  his  canonisation.  The 
magnificent  offerings  to  his  shrine  became  so 
numerous  and  rich  that  the  monks  were  enabled 
to  finish  the  Cathedral  in  i  2 1 6  —  surely  the  most 
fitting  memorial  to  the  great  founder.  They  con- 
tinued their  labours  by  adding  a  Lady  chapel,  soon 
after,  in  the  east  end,  and  rebuilding  the  choir  in 
the  Early  English  style.  In  the  fourteenth  century 
the  nave  was  reconstructed,  the  Decorated  style 
being  introduced  in  the  north  side  and  the  Perpen- 
dicular in  the  south. 

The  Chapter  House  is  a  round  building  with  a 
stone  roof  resting  on  a  central  pillar,  and  dates  from 
the  Late  Norman  period. 

The  Refectory  belongs  to   the   Decorated,  and 

[126] 


WORCESTER 

the  Perpendicular  style  claims  the  cloisters.  The 
central  tower  is  just  over  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
feet  in  height.  As  can  be  seen  by  the  drawing, 
the  plan  of  the  building  is  a  pure  cross.  There 
are  two  transept  aisles,  and  only  secondary  transepts 
to  the  choir  exist.  A  noteworthy  circumstance 
is  that  St.  Helen's,  Worcester,  is  the  earliest  re- 
cipient of  a  chantry  (1288). 

The  most  interesting  memorial  in  this  cathedral 
is  King  John's,  in  the  choir,  said  to  be  the  earliest 
sepulchral  effigy  of  an  English  king  in  the  country. 
In  the  Chantry  Chapel  there  is  an  altar-tomb  to 
Arthur,  Prince  of  Wales  and  son  to  Henry  VII., 
who  died  in  1502.  John  Bauden,  bishop,  and 
author  of  "  Icon  Basilike,"  has  a  monument. 
Bishop  Hough's  memory  is  perpetuated  by  the 
work  of  Roubillac,  and  that  of  Mrs.  Digby  by 
the  sculpture  of  Chantrey. 

To  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  history  of  the 
city  would  be  long  and  unnecessary.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  the  city  continually  changed  hands  during 
the  civil  wars.  In  1265,  in  Worcestershire,  close 
upon  the  frontier  of  Gloucestershire,  was  fought 
the  battle  of  Evesham,  in  which  Henry  III.'s  son 
surprised  and  defeated  Earl  Simon  de  Montford, 
one  time  a  royal  favourite.  This  result  put  an 
end  to  the  confederacy  of  the  barons.      Cantilupe, 

[  127] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  was  implicated  in  that 
he  favoured  the  Earl's  cause,  who  had  withdrawn 
previous  to  the  battle,  to  the  friendly  territory  of 
Worcester's  See,  and  had  rested  at  Evesham 
Abbey.  Queen  Elizabeth  and  James  II.  respect- 
ively paid  the  city  a  short  visit. 

It  suffered  extensively  by  the  dissolution  of 
the  monasteries.  The  parliamentary  troops  foully 
defiled  the  Cathedral,  and  did  considerable  damage 
to  the  city,  which  was  Royalist. 

Here  it  was  that  Charles  II.,  with  his  Scottish 
army,  was  defeated  by  Cromwell,  who  had  taken 
up  a  position  on  Red  Hill  without  the  city  gates. 
Fortune  and  disguise  helped  Charles  to  escape,  and 
from  here  he  began  his  adventurous  journey  to 
Boscobel.  The  cathedral  city  has  since  increased 
steadily  in  prosperity.  Besides  the  Worcester  China 
Company,  founded  in  1751,  and  still  flourishing,  a 
Company  of  Glovers  was  incorporated  in  1661, 
and  is  an  important  industry.  These,  in  addition 
to  hop-growing,  help  to  keep  up  the  trade  pros- 
perity of  Worcester.  The  See  has  enriched  the 
Church  of  Rome  by  four  saints,  and  has  yielded 
to  the  English  State  several  Lord  Chancellors  and 
Lord  Treasurers. 


[128] 


« 


€\)k\)tsttv 

("  Doomsday  Book.") 

IN  a  geographical  account  of  this  city  it  is  given 
as  being  locally  in  "  the  hundred  of  Box  and 
Stockbridge,  rape  of  Chichester,  county  of 
Sussex."  The  origin  of  this  term  "  rape,"  comes 
from  the  Icelandic  "  hreppr,"  meaning  a  village  or 
district.  From  the  Icelandic  verb,  "hreppa,"  to 
catch,  obtain,  arose  the  Anglo-Saxon  rendering  — 
"  hrepian,  hreppan,"  to  touch.  Rape  came  thus 
to  be  one  of  six  divisions  of  the  county  of  Sussex, 
possibly  by  reason  of  their  nearness  to  each  other. 
It  formed  the  intermediate  between  the  shire  and 
the  hundred.  A  sketch  of  the  shire  and  the 
hundred  is  treated  in  the  description  of  Wells. 
After  this  slight  digression,  we  will  immediately 
enter  upon  the  history  of  Chichester. 

Its  foundation  dates,   with  certainty,   from   the 
time  when  England  formed  a  portion  of  the  Roman 
Empire.      About  the  year  47  a.  d..  Flavins  Ves- 
pasian conquered  this  part  of  England.     He  estab- 
9  [  129  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

lished  a  camp  on  the  site  of  the  present  city,  close 
to  the  road  now  known  as  Stane  Street,  throwing 
up  an  entrenchment  three  miles  long.  This  is 
attributed  to  be  the  "  Regnum "  of  the  Belgse, 
mentioned  in  the  "  Itinerary  "   of  Antonine. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  this,  if  it  be  borne 
in  mind  that,  situated  almost  on  the  south  seaboard 
of  England  as  Chichester  is,  it  might  quite  con- 
ceivably be  expected  to  be  classed  accidentally  as 
forming  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  Belgas, 
though  geographically  wrong.  The  advantage  of 
a  site  at  the  foot  of  a  small  spur  of  the  South  Downs, 
within  easy  distance  of  the  sea,  though  inland, 
would  offer  great  attractions  to  the  Roman  invader. 

The  early  history  of  England  shows  us  that  inva- 
sions took  effect  generally  on  the  south  and  east 
coasts  of  the  island.  The  conquered  tribes  travelled 
westwards,  retreating  before  the  fierce  invader. 

Little  seems  to  have  been  known  about  the 
Roman  occupation  of  Chichester  till  the  accidental 
turning  up  of  a  Sussex  marble  slab  on  the  site  of  the 
present  council  chamber.  This  discovery  took  place 
about  the  year  1 7 1  3.  From  this  a  little  information 
is  gleaned  about  the  Roman  buildings.  The  slab 
bears  a  defaced  inscription  in  Latin,  the  missing 
letters  of  which  having  been  supplied,  give  a  con- 
jectural reading.      It  appears  that  Chichester  was 

[  130] 


CHICHESTER 

the  seat  of  a  British  king,  Cogidubnus ;  and  that 
under  the  auspices  of  a  certain  Pudens,  a  temple  of 
Neptune  and  Minerva  was  erected  out  of  compli- 
ment to  Claudius.  The  evidence  of  this  stone 
seems  also  to  have  been  borne  out  by  Tacitus,  who 
mentions  in  his  writings  the  existence  of  Cogi- 
dubnus as  a  native  king  possessed  of  independent 
authority.  This  king,  also,  is  said  to  be  the  father 
of  Claudia,  who  figures  in  the  Second  Epistle  to 
Timothy.  The  conjectural  reading  again  leads  us 
to  suppose  that  the  city  was  occupied  by  a  large 
number  of  craftsmen,  who,  in  fact,  were  responsible 
for  the  erection  of  the  temple  mentioned  above, 
besides  the  walls  and  other  buildings. 

During  the  early  Saxon  period  in  the  fifth 
century  the  city  was  destroyed  by  QElla.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Cissa,  who  rebuilt  it 
and  called  it  Cissa's  Ceaster  —  Cissa  after  his  own 
name,  and  Ceaster  in  recognition  of  the  Romans 
having  occupied  it.  The  city  afterwards  became 
the  seat  of  the  South  Saxon  kings,  and  remained 
thus  till  about  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century. 
Wulfhere,  the  Mercian,  then  invaded  it  and  made 
Athelwald,  its  king,  prisoner.  Upon  his  conver- 
sion to  Christianity  the  king  was  reinstated.  He 
was  afterwards  killed  in  battle  by  Ceadwalla  of 
Wessex,  who  conquered  the  kingdom  of  the  South 

[  131] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Saxons.  In  803  Egbert  managed  to  make  a 
union  of  the  several  Saxon  kingdoms.  This  event 
caused  considerable  prosperity  to  Chichester. 
From  ancient  penny-pieces  discovered,  we  learn 
that  King  Edgar,  in  the  year  967,  had  established  a 
mint  here,  thus  clearly  indicating  the  importance 
of  the  city. 

It  suffered  a  terrible  decline  through  the  devas- 
tations of  the  Danes  ;  so  much  so,  that  scarcely 
two  hundred  houses  and  only  one  church  existed 
at  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest.  However, 
from  1 070  the  fortunes  of  the  city  began  to  mend 
rapidly.  This  wholesome  change  was  caused 
primarily  by  the  removal  of  the  See  from  Selsea, 
where  it  had  remained  for  over  three  hundred 
years,  to  Chichester.  As  first  bishop  of  Chichester, 
Stigand,  the  chaplain  to  William  the  Conqueror, 
was  appointed.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  a 
cathedral  was  built  and  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Ralph.  It  was  soon  destroyed  by  fire.  On  its 
site  the  same  prelate  erected  a  second  structure  of 
far  greater  magnificence,  a  considerable  portion  of 
which  is  still  extant. 
i  In  1 189  the  city  again  suffered  from  a  terrible 
fire,  which  also  caused  great  damage  to  the 
Cathedral.  This  building,  however,  was  repaired 
and  greatly  enlarged  by  Bishop  Siffed.     His  efforts, 

[  132] 


CHICHESTER 


FROM    THE    NORTHEAST 


CHICHESTER 

with  those  of  Ralph,  form  the  basis  of  the  present 
cathedral.  It  was  dedicated  to  St.  Peter.  The 
architecture  embraces  the  Norman  and  the  Early 
English  and  Decorated  styles. 

A  beautiful  tower  arose  from  the  centre,  sur- 
mounted by  an  octagonal  spire  three  hundred  feet 
high,  with  two  towers  on  the  west,  of  which  the 
upper  courses  of  one  were  destroyed  during  the 
parliamentary  war.  On  the  north  is  seen  a  fine 
bell-tower  and  lantern,  connected  by  flying- but- 
tresses with  octagonal  turrets  springing  from  the 
angles. 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  after  a  stubborn 
defence  by  the  Royalist  citizens,  the  city  was 
compelled  to  surrender  to  Cromwell's  troops.  In 
the  course  of  this  reign  the  north-west  tower  was 
battered  down,  and  in  1648  Cromwell  ordered  the 
destruction  of  the  cathedral  cloisters,  the  Bishop's 
Palace,  the  Deanery,  and  the  Canons'  houses. 
The  Bishop's  Palace  was  repaired  in  1725,  and 
contains  a  chapel  built  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
A  general  and  great  restoration  of  the  Cathedral 
was  commenced  in  1830,  but  in  spite  of  every 
precaution  the  tower  and  spire  fell  down  in  1861. 
Under  the  guidance  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott  the  neces- 
sary repairs  were  undertaken.  The  cloisters  were 
restored  about  the  year  1890. 

[135] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Besides  his  grand  contribution  to  the  church's 
architecture.  Storey's  memory  is  perpetuated  by 
the  very  fine  octagonal  cross  in  the  Decorated 
English  style.  It  stands  fifty  feet  high,  in  the 
centre  of  the  town,  from  which  the  four  principal 
streets  run  out  at  right  angles  towards  the  country. 
These  streets,  in  olden  days,  led  to  four  gates  in 
the  embattled  walls  which  surrounded  the  city. 
The  last  of  these  gates  was  taken  down  in  1773. 
Besides  the  cross.  Storey  founded  in  1497  ^^^ 
Grammar  School,  where  Archbishop  Juxon,  the 
learned  Seldon,  the  poet  Collins,  and  Dr.  Hurdis, 
Professor  of  Poetry  at  the  University  of  Oxford, 
received  their  elementary   education. 

Amongst  other  schools  founded  was  one  by 
Oliver  Whitby,  in  1702,  to  afford  free  nautical 
education  to  twelve  boys  ;  namely,  four  from 
Chichester,  and  four  from  each  of  the  villages 
of  West  Wettering  and  Harting.  Though 
Chichester  is  connected  by  a  short  canal  with 
the  sea,  and  a  certain  amount  of  shipping  is  done, 
it  can  hardly  be  considered  as  an  important  port. 
It  lies  fourteen  miles  north-east  of  England's  great- 
est naval  port,  Portsmouth.  Curiously  enough, 
Chichester  is  only  five  miles  south  of  Goodwood, 
the  famous  city  for  horse-races. 

The  municipal  and  parliamentary  borough  of 

[136] 


CHICHESTER 

Chichester,  incorporated  as  city  in  the  year  121  3, 
is  almost  surrounded  by  a  small  stream  called  the 
Lavant,  and  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  end  of  a 
small  spur  of  the  South  Down  Hills.  It  is  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  principal  cattle  markets 
in  the  South  of  England.  Accommodation  for 
several  thousands  of  cattle  was  arranged  in  1871 
by  the  Corporation. 

There  are  also  the  Guildhall,  which  was  for- 
merly the  chapel  of  a  convent  of  Grey  Friars ; 
the  corn-exchange,  the  market-house,  museum, 
and  infirmary. 

Bradwardine  and  Juxon,  both  archbishops  of 
Canterbury  ;  Lawrence  Somercote,  a  great  canonist 
and  writer ;  the  poets  Collins  and  Hayley,  whose 
memory  has  been  perpetuated  by  a  tablet  designed 
by  Flaxman  in  the  Cathedral,  were  all  born  in  this 
city.  The  Diocese  of  Chichester  covers  nearly  the 
whole  extent  of  Sussex. 

In  conclusion  we  would  draw  the  attention  to 
the  quaint  design  on  the  Bishop's  armorial  shield. 
It  depicts  the  curious  device  of  a  mitred  prelate 
holding  a  sword  in  his  mouth.  He  is  seated,  pre- 
sumably, on  a  throne,  which  much  resembles  a 
square  block  of  marble,  looked  at  perspectively. 
Perhaps  it  is  meant  for  the  Holy  Stone.  Both  the 
Bishop's  arms  are  outstretched.     In  his  left  hand 

[  m  J 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

an  open  book  is  held,  whilst  his  right  is  palm 
upwards.  Why  the  Bishop  holds  the  sword  in 
his  mouth,  when  his  right  hand  is  free,  it  is  hard 
to  say.  Possibly  the  arms  were  first  drawn  up 
for  a  warlike  bishop,  or  it  may  mean  that  the 
sword  is  the  sword  of  Justice.  In  all  probability 
the  correct  meaning  is  conveyed  by  the  twelfth 
verse  in  Hebrews  iv.,  wherein  it  sets  forth  that  the 
sword  in  the  Bishop's  mouth  is  symbolical  of 
"  The  Word  of  the  Lord,"  which  is  "  sharper 
than  any  two-edged  sword,"  and  the  Book  of 
the  Law  is  in  his  left  hand,  whilst  the  right 
hand  is  extended  in  blessing  or  in  supplicating 
prayer. 


[138I 


CI)ester 

Cestre. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

'HIS  famous  place  occupies  a  singular 
position.  It  is  a  city  and  county  of  itself, 
a  municipal  county  since  1888,  and  a 
parliamentary  borough,  besides  being  an  episcopal 
city,  a  seaport,  and  county  town  of  Cheshire. 

Chester  is  also  the  capital  of  the  county  of 
Cheshire.  It  is  situated  on  a  rocky  elevation,  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  River  Dee,  by  which  the 
city  is  partly  encircled.  Just  seventeen  miles  north 
of  it  lies  the  great  manufacturing  and  seaport  town 
of  Liverpool.  At  one  time  Chester  was  a  palatine 
city,  enjoying  all  the  privileges  peculiar  to  that 
dignity.  This  practically  conferred  independent 
authority  on  a  city  far  situated  from  the  Metropolis. 
The  head  of  the  city  was  a  little  king,  and  enjoyed 
discretionary  power.  In  a  brief  sketch  of  this,  in 
the  account  of  Durham,  is  clearly  shown  the  mutual 
advantages  accruing,  especially  in  cases  of  emer- 
gency, such  as  incursions  of  the  enemy,  to  both 

[  139] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  city  thus  honoured  and  the  Metropolis 
London. 

The  geographical  position  of  Chester  in  the 
extreme  west  of  England,  and  its  proximity  to  the 
restless  Welsh,  demanded  some  such  power  to 
cope,  at  a  moment's  notice,  with  any  unexpected 
event  from  that  quarter.  This  nearness  to  Wales 
contributed  in  a  great  measure  to  the  importance 
of  this  city,  as  will  be  presently  shown. 

The  earliest  authentic  history  of  Chester  ascribes 
its  origin  to  the  British  tribe  called  the  Cornavii. 
At  the  time  of  the  Roman  invasion  they  inhabited 
that  part  of  England  which  now  is  known  as  the 
counties  of  Chester,  Salop,  Stafford,  Warwick,  and 
Worcester. 

The  city  they  called  Coer  Leon  Vawr  —  City  of 
Leon  the  Great.  This  name  is  supposed  to  have 
been  given  out  of  compliment  to  Leon,  son  of  Brut 
Darien,  the  eighth  king  of  Britain.  By  some 
historians  this  origin  is  contested.  They  say  that 
this  Welsh  name  of  Coer  Leon  Vawr  indicated  the 
"city  or  camp  of  the  Great  Legion."  They  also 
supply  "  Coer  Leon,"  or  "  Dwfyr  Dwy,"  and 
render  their  meaning  into  "  the  city  of  the  Legion 
on  the  Dee,"  from  its  connection  with  that  people. 
The  city  was  also  called  Deunana  and  Deva,  after 
the  same  river.      However,  it  is  conclusively  proved 

[  HO  ] 


CHESTER 

EASTGATE    STREET 


CHESTER 

that  here  the  Twentieth  Roman  Legion  established 
a  station  after  the  defeat  of  Caractacus,  who,  after 
having  made  a  mighty  effort  to  withstand  this 
second  invasion  of  England  by  the  Romans,  was 
taken  prisoner.  He  and  his  wife  and  family  were 
taken  to  Rome,  and,  according  to  custom,  were 
paraded  through  the  streets  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public,  but  afterwards  honourably  treated.  This 
second  occupation  of  England  lasted  from  43  a.d. 
till  the  Romans  finally  departed  in  446  a.  d.  The 
first  was  a  short  stay  by  Julius  Cassar  in  b.  c,  some 
ninety-seven  years  previous.  In  46  a.  d.,  within 
three  years  of  the  landing  of  the  Romans,  Chester 
was  established  as  a  Roman  camp,  during  the  reign 
of  Clauditis,  the  Roman  Emperor. 

From  the  disposition  of  the  four  principal  streets, 
—  Northgate  Street,  Eastgate  Street,  Bridge  Street, 
and  Westgate  Street,  together  with  the  walls 
surrounding  the  city,  and  the  selection  of  a  rocky 
site  on  the  bank  of  a  fair-sized  river,  Chester  gives 
a  good  illustration  of  the  principles  upon  which  the 
Romans  went  to  work.  From  a  determined  centre 
these  roads  run  out  to  their  respective  gates  in  the 
boundary  walls,  in  the  direction  of  the  four  cardinal 
points.  The  walls  of  this  city  are  the  only  ones 
in  England  that  are  perfect  in  their  entire  circuit 
of  two  miles,  though  the  gateways  have  all  been 

[  143] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

rebuilt  within  the  last  hundred  years.  On  the 
departure  of  the  Roman  soldiery,  England  reverted 
to  the  Britons,  who  appeared  to  have  been  help- 
less, so  long  had  they  relied  upon  their  late  con- 
querors for  protection.  From  them  Chester  was 
taken  by  Ethelfrith,  King  of  Northumbria,  who 
defeated  them  under  the  King  of  Powysland  in 
607.  The  Britons,  however,  regained  possession 
and  maintained  it  till  828,  when  Egbert,  who  was 
then  the  sole  monarch  of  England,  annexed  it  to 
his  possessions.  The  Saxons,  during  their  occu- 
pation of  the  city,  named  it  Legancaester  and 
Legecester. 

The  Danes,  in  the  ninth  century,  caused  severe 
damages.  On  their  retreat  Ethelfreda,  Countess  of 
Mercia,  repaired  the  walls.  On  her  death  the  Britons 
once  more  became  the  city's  masters,  but  were 
driven  out  again  by  Edward  the  Elder.  Athelstan, 
it  is  said,  revived  its  mint.  About  the  year  972 
Edgar  assembled  a  naval  force  on  the  river  Dee. 
To  demonstrate  his  supremacy  he  caused  himself 
to  be  rowed  by  eight  tributary  kings  from  his 
palace  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  to  the  Con- 
vent Church  of  St.  John's.  To  increase  the  de- 
sired effect,  we  are  told  that  he  took  the  helm, 
—  the  symbol   of  government. 

On  the  division  of  England,  in  1016,  between 

[  »44  ] 


CHESTER 

Canute  and  Edmund  Ironside,  Canute  gained 
possession  of  Mercia,  in  which  were  included 
Chester  and  Northumbria.  Chester  remained  as 
a  city  of  Mercia,  governed  by  its  earl,  till  the 
Norman  Conquest.  William  then  bestowed  it 
with  the  earldom  on  his  nephew  Hugh  Lupus. 
He  was,  in  view  of  the  proximity  of  Wales, 
invested  with  sovereign  or  palatine  authority  over 
the  tract  of  country  now  represented  by  the  county 
of  Cheshire  and  the  coast-line  of  Flintshire  as  far 
as  Rhuddlan.  Chester  was  made  the  seat  of  his 
government. 

At  that  time  it  is  described  in  "  Doomsday  Book" 
as  Cestre,  and  as  possessing  four  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  houses  within  its  walls.  For  over  two  centuries 
after  the  Conquest  this  city  formed  an  important 
military  station  for  the  defence  of  the  English 
border  against  the  Welsh.  The  Norman  Earl 
Ranulph  I.  granted  the  first  charter,  though  its 
purport  proves  that  Chester  already  enjoyed  certain 
municipal  rights.  On  account  of  its  garrison  it 
was  frequently  visited  by    reigning   monarchs. 

Chester  was  captured  by  the  Earl  of  Derby,  who 
held  it  for  the  Crown  during  the  war  between 
Henry  HI.  and  the  barons.  The  contest  was 
ended  with  the  defeat  of  the  barons  at  the  battle 
of  Evesham,  close  to  Worcester.     Here,  in   1 300, 

[H7] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

it  was  that  the  Welsh  chieftains  paid  homage  to 
the  first  English  Prince  of  Wales,  the  infant  son 
of  Edward  I. 

Richard  II.,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  erected  the 
earldom  of  Chester. into  a  principality  to  be  held 
only  by  the  eldest  son  of  the  King.  This  was 
rescinded  in  the  next  reign.  In  fact,  Richard  II. 
was  made  captive  by  Henry  of  Lancaster,  and  was 
imprisoned  in  a  tower  over  the  gateway  of  the 
Castle.  The  city  suffered  greatly  during  the  Wars 
of  the  Roses.  It  was  visited  by  Queen  Margaret 
of  Anjou,  the  wife  of  Henry  VI.  This  queen 
played  a  prominent  part  with  regard  to  the  claim 
to  the  English  throne.  She  was  daughter  to  Rene, 
who  was  a  relation  of  the  King  of  France.  He 
was  titular  king  of  Sicily,  but  without  territories. 
Though  Margaret  brought  to  Henry  a  rich  dower, 
he  was  persuaded  to  consent  to  the  deduction  of  a 
large  portion  of  Maine  and  Anjou  to  her  father 
Rene.  During  the  Duke  of  Gloucester's  life,  who 
had  strongly  opposed  the  royal  marriage,  Margaret 
and  her  coadjutor,  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  had  not 
dared  to  carry  into  effect  the  agreement  they  had 
extracted  from  Henry.  The  Duke  of  York,  who 
was  regent  in  France,  through  his  integrity,  was 
also  a  serious  obstacle.  She  and  Suffolk  had  him 
recalled,  and  the  regency  given  to  Beaufort,  Duke 

[148] 


CHESTER 

of  Somerset,  nephew  to  Cardinal  Beaufort.  York 
felt  injured,  and  took  revenge  by  asserting  his 
claim  to  the  Crown. 

By  his  father  he  was  descended  from  Edward 
III.'s  fourth  son.  From  his  mother,  the  last  of  the 
Mortimers,  he  inherited  that  family's  claim  from 
Lionel,  the  second  son  of  the  same  king.  On  the 
other  hand,  John  of  Gaunt,  from  whom  Henry  VI. 
was  descended,  was  Edward's  third  son.  Thus 
York,  through  his  mother,  had  a  prior  claim. 
These  rival  claims  caused  confusion  and  tumult 
throughout  England.  In  the  meantime  the  English 
possessions  in  France  were  lost  one  after  the  other, 
till  in  1 45 1  only  Calais  remained.  The  misgovern- 
ment  of  the  regency  in  France  under  Somerset 
contrasted  most  unfavourably  with  that  of  York. 

In  these  troublous  times  England  looked  towards 
York  as  the  only  one  to  be  trusted,  who  then 
became  Protector  during  the  King's  mental  weak- 
ness. He  imprisoned  the  Duke  of  Somerset.  The 
latter  as  soon  as  he  was  free  assembled  an  army,  and 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  St.  Albans,  the  first  War 
of  the  Roses.  His  followers,  the  Lancastrians, 
were  defeated  by  the  Duke  of  York,  and  the  King 
made  prisoner.  Eventually  York  declared  himself. 
By  Act  of  Parliament  he  and  his  heirs  were  con- 
stituted successors  to  the  throne  of  England  after 

[  149  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  death  of  Henry  VI.  Margaret,  however,  de- 
feated the  Yorkists  in  battle,  in  which  York  was 
slain.  He  left  behind  him  three  sons,  —  Edward, 
George,  and  Richard,  —  the  first  of  whom  later  on 
deposed  Henry  VI.  and  became  Edward  IV.  We 
have  ventured  to  give  this  brief  sketch  of  the  origin 
of  these  rival  claims,  in  that  most  of  the  cathedral 
cities  were  affected  by  the  fortunes  or  misfortunes 
of  their  favoured  party. 

Chester,  in  the  years  1507,  1517,  and  1550, 
suffered  from  a  terrible  visitation  of  the  sweating 
sickness.  From  1602  to  1605  the  plague  made  it 
necessary  to  suspend  all  the  city  fairs,  and  to  hold 
the  assizes  at  Nantwich.  This  epidemic  occurred 
again  with  great  loss  of  life  to  the  inhabitants, 
between  1647-48.  During  the  Civil  War  this 
city  of  Chester  endured  great  sacrifices  for  its 
loyalty  to   Charles  I. 

The  King  came  there  in  1 642,  when  the  citizens 
gave  him  great  pecuniary  assistance.  Not  till  after 
a  memorable  siege,  lasting  from  1643  to  1646,  did 
the  citizens  agree  to  surrender.  The  garrison  were 
allowed  to  march  out  with  all  the  honours  of  war, 
the  safety  of  the  persons  and  property  of  the  citizens 
with  liberty  of  trade  were  secured,  and  the  sanctity 
of  the  sacred  buildings  and  their  title-deeds  pre- 
served. 

[150] 


CHESTER 


ST.    WERBURGH     STREET 


CHESTER 

Sir  Charles  Booth,  in  1659,  with  the  aid  of  the 
citizens,  overcame  the  garrison  of  Charles  II.,  then 
an  exile,  but  was  afterwards  defeated  by  Lambert, 
Cromwell's  general. 

The  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  in 
1683,  stirred  the  populace  to  a  tumult.  Amongst 
other  excesses  the  mob  spent  its  fury  in  forcing  the 
cathedral  doors,  breaking  the  painted  glass,  destroy- 
ing the  font,  and  other  regrettable  damage  to  this 
building.  In  1688  the  city  was  taken  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  lords,  Molyneux  and  Ashton,  for 
James  II.,  who,  after  all,  rendered  further  efforts 
useless  by  his  abdication.  Under  William  III. 
Chester  was  included  in  the  six  cities  for  the 
residence  of  an  assay  master,  and  was  permitted 
to  issue  silver  coinage.  The  last  important  mili- 
tary event  that  took  place  in  this  city  was  in  the 
Rebellion  of  1745,  when  it  was  fortified  against 
the  Pretender.  ' 

In  architecture  the  great  characteristic  is  the 
quaint  way  the  houses  have  been  built.  The  streets 
have  been  cut  out  of  the  rock  below  the  general 
surface  of  the  land.  The  houses  appear  to  have 
been  built  into  the  rock,  or  rather  to  have  been 
piled  up  against  it.  The  shops  are  level  with  the 
streets,  and  over  them  runs  a  balustraded  gallery. 
Steps  at  certain  intervals  lead  the  way  down  into 

[153] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  streets.  These  galleries  are  called  by  the  in- 
habitants "The  Rows."  These  Rows  are  houses 
with  shops.  Overhanging  the  shops,  like  the  eaves 
of  a  house,  are  the  upper  stories,  to  which  addi- 
tional flights  of  steps  give  access. 

Two  explanations  are  given  for  this  unusual 
construction  of  houses :  one,  that  the  Rows,  or 
promenades,  are  the  remnants  of  the  ancient  vesti- 
bules of  the  Roman  houses ;  the  other  that  they 
were  probably  originated  to  afford  ready  defence 
against  the  sudden  raids  of  the  Welsh.  The  latter 
appears  the  more  likely.  The  Rows,  from  their 
position  to  the  streets,  would  afford  the  besieged 
greater  facilities  of  shelter  and  attack. 

In  Bridge  Street  and  Eastgate  Street  the  Rows 
are  made  pleasant  promenades.  Though  many  of 
the  houses  have  been  rebuilt,  they  still  retain  the 
old  character.  In  addition  to  these  interesting 
buildings  there  was  the  castle  built  by  the 
Conqueror,  of  which  there  remains  only  a  large 
square  tower,  called  "  Julius  Agricola's  Tower." 
The  front  has  been  entirely  renewed.  This  tower 
served  probably  as  a  place  of  confinement  of  the 
Earl  of  Derby.  Here  were  imprisoned  Richard  II. 
and  Margaret,  Countess  of  Richmond.  Just  shortly 
before  the  Revolution  James  II.  heard  Mass  in  the 
second  chamber. 

[154] 


CHESTER 

Though  the  Cathedral  has  been  left  to  the  last, 
its  history  is  no  less  interesting  than  the  other 
features  of  Chester.  The  Cathedral  was  originally 
the  church  attached  to  the  convent  of  St.  Werburgh, 
under  which  name  its  ecclesiastical  site  is  mentioned 
in  **  Doomsday  Book."  It  was  first  dedicated  to  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul,  but  Ethelfrida  afterwards  trans- 
ferred their  patronage  to  that  of  the  Saxon  saint, 
Walmgha,  the  daughter  of  Wulphen,  King  of 
Mercia.  Besides  this  princess  the  great  benefactors 
were  Leofric,  Earl  of  Mercia,  and  Hugh  Lupus, 
who  substituted  Benedictine  monks  for  secular 
canons. 

On  the  dissolution  of  the  abbey,  in  lieu  of  the 
abbot  and  monks,  a  dean,  prebendaries,  and  minor 
canons  were  appointed,  the  last  abbot  being  made 
dean.  Here  it  is  as  well  to  remember  that  a  church 
was  called  an  abbey,  whatever  its  former  denomina- 
tion might  have  been,  if  an  abbot  became  its  head. 
In  much  the  same  way  the  name  "  minster "  is 
derived  from  a  monastery,  and  cathedral  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  bishop  had  his  cathedra,  or  throne, 
placed  in  the  sacred  building  for  his  own  use.  At 
the  dissolution  the  Cathedral  of  Chester  was  dedi- 
cated to  "  Christ  and  the  Blessed  Virgin."  Though 
there  are  some  interesting  remains  of  the  abbey, 
the  present   building  was   built   in  the  reigns  of 

[  155  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Henry  VII.  and  Henry  VIII.  The  diocese  of 
Chester  dates  at  the  period  of  the  kingdom  of 
Mercia.  It  was  afterwards  incorporated  with  that 
of  Lichfield,  but  in  1075,  Peter,  Bishop  of  Lich- 
field restored  the  See  to  Chester.  His  successor, 
however,  removed  it  for  the  second  time  to  Lich- 
field. Henry  VIII.,  in  1541,  created  six  new  sees, 
in  which  he  included  Chester.  With  a  portion  of 
the  possessions  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Werburgh, 
which  was  dissolved,  he  endowed  the  new  see. 
The  first  bishop  after  the  dissolution  was  John  Bird. 
In  1752  the  palace  of  the  bishop  was  rebuilt  by 
Bishop  Keene. 

The  cathedral  site  is  on  the  eastern  side  of 
Northgate  Street.  Excepting  the  western  end,  it 
presents  the  appearance  of  a  heavy,  irregular  pile, 
when  viewed  externally.  The  interior  is  very 
impressive,  and  contains  portions  in  the  Norman, 
and  in  the  Early  and  Decorated  styles  of  English 
architecture.  It  possesses  a  clerestory  in  the  Later 
style.  Some  chapels  in  the  Early  English  style, 
are  to  the  east  of  the  north  transept.  The  south 
transept,  separated  from  the  Cathedral  by  a  wooden 
screen,  forms  the  parish  church  of  St.  Oswald. 
The  style  of  the  Bishop's  throne,  sometimes  known 
as  St.  Werburgh's  Shrine,  belongs  to  the  Early 
period  of  the  fourteenth  century.      In  the  eastern 

[156] 


CHESTER 

BISHOP    IJ.OYd's    palace    AND     WATERGATE    STREET 


CHESTER 

walk  of  the  cloister  stands  the  Chapter  House,  of 
Early  English  style,  built  by  Earl  Randulph  the 
First.  It  served  as  the  burial-place  of  the  earls  of 
the  original  Norman  line,  except  Richard,  who 
perished  by  shipwreck. 

The  sacred  edifice  has  from  time  to  time  under- 
gone extensive  reparations. 

As  a  port  Chester  was  at  one  time  most  impor- 
tant, but  through  the  silting  up  of  the  Channel  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  it  lost  a  considerable  amount 
of  its  shipping  trade.  In  spite  of  the  Channel  being 
deepened  in  1824,  its  shipping  prosperity  cannot  be 
said  to  have  advanced  hand  in  hand  with  the  progress 
of  the  city,  though  it  possibly  may  be  greater  than  it 
was  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  great  Chester  Canal  comes  from  Nantwich, 
passes  through  Chester,  and  merges  into  the  Elles- 
mere  Canal,  which  winds  up  northwards  to  the 
river  Mersey.  Thus  the  city  is  connected  with 
Liverpool. 

As  the  crow  flies,  the  country  traversed  from 
London  to  Chester  is  most  interesting.  The  track 
passes  through  the  counties  of  Middlesex,  Bucking- 
hamshire, Northamptonshire,  Warwickshire,  with 
its  famous  towns,  Stratford-on-Avon,  the  birthplace 
of  Shakespeare,  and  Coventry,  through  Stafford- 
shire, famous   for  its   beautiful  old   china  and   its 

[159] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Cathedral  at  Lichfield,  and  finally  into  Cheshire, 
the  county  containing  Chester  and  Northwich. 

Among  the  many  eminent  men  born  at  Chester 
was  Randolph  Caldecott,  in  1846.  He  is  handed 
down  to  posterity  as  the  famous  illustrator  of  the 
works  of  Washington  Irving.  But  the  achievement 
that  gained  him  the  greatest  accla??ie  was  a  series 
of  coloured  books  for  children.  They  began  in 
1878  with  "  John  Gilpin"  and  "  The  House  that 
Jack  Built,"  and  ended  the  year  before  his  death, 
in  1886,  with  the  "Elegy  on  Madame  Blaize  " 
and  "  The  Great  Panjandrum  Himself."  In  the 
crypt  of  St.  Paul's,  London,  his  memory  is  per- 
petuated through  the  great  artistic  expression  of  a 
brother  artist,  Alfred  Gilbert,  R.  A. 

Thus,  in  this  brief  sketch,  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  give  a  categorical  history  of  one  of  Eng- 
land's most  ancient  cities  from  its  earliest  occupa- 
tion by  the  British  Cornavii,  and  its  subsequent 
events  down  to  the  royal  visit  in  1869  by  the 
then  Prince  of  Wales,  now  our  King  Edward 
VII.,  on  which  occasion  he  opened  the  new 
townhall.  It  would  require  far  greater  space 
to  record  every  feature  of  interest  in  connection 
with  Chester  than  can  be  allotted  within  the 
present  limitations.  To  the  antiquarian  Chester 
furnishes  a  most   interesting  and  absorbing  study, 

[160] 


CHESTER 

and  will   in  all  likelihood   continue   to  do  so  for 
many  years  to  come  yet. 

To  those  interested  in  horse-racing  the  fine  race- 
course attracts  annually  a  great  concourse  to 
Chester. 


»s 


[r6f] 


3^ocI)  ester 

Roucestre. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

IN  the  illustration  is  seen  to  great  advantage 
the  temporal  and  spiritual  power  of  Rochester : 
the  State,  as  represented  by  the  Norman 
keep ;  the  Church,  as  symbolised  by  the  cathe- 
dral. Ever  since  Christianity  came  to  England, 
these  two  mighty  levers  of  power  have  marched, 
if  not  always  hand  in  hand,  more  or  less  in  accord. 
Though  the  two  have  frequently  struggled  for  su- 
premacy, yet  their  feuds  have  done  more  towards  the 
enlightenment  of  the  people  than  any  harmonious 
concert  could  have  effected.  In  marked  contrast 
to  mediaeval  times  the  State  and  Church  of  the 
present  day  formulate  and  carry  out  the  will  of 
the  people.  They  are  the  channels  of  purpose  as 
determined  by  the  nation.  Great  as  the  power 
of  the  Church  still  is,  it  has  nevertheless  lost  that 
tremendous  authority  it  once  wielded  under  the 
popes. 

[162] 


ROCHESTER 

Henry  U.  set  up  a  strenuous  opposition,  whilst 
Henry  VIII.  dealt  it  a  crushing  blow.  The  dis- 
solution of  the  monasteries  was  a  terrible  check  to 
Roman  Catholicism  in  England,  as  well  as  Luther's 
reforms  in  Germany.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  this  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  more  adherents  in  Europe 
than  any  other  religion.  The  menace  to  the 
Church  of  England  lies  in  the  lack  of  absolute 
obedience  to  the  spiritual  head,  and  the  many 
different  sects.  The  Church  of  Rome  exacts  abso- 
lute obedience  and  faith,  and  by  these  means  is 
steadily  increasing  its  influence.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Cathedral  recently  erected  in  London  is 
a  convincing  proof  of  the  untiring  energy  of  the 
followers  of  that  wonderful  religion.  It  is  also 
curious  to  notice  that  the  Latin  races  are  the 
staunchest  supporters  of  the  Papacy. 

As  its  name  implies,  Rochester  was  a  Roman 
camp.  This  place  formed  one  of  the  stipendiary 
towns  of  this  Latin  race,  and  was  called  "  Duro- 
brivae."  Not  much  information  has  been  pre- 
served concerning  their  occupation  of  the  town. 
That  it  was  important,  and  served  as  a  military 
basis,  is  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  great  Roman 
Watling  Street,  which  passes  through  the  city,  and 
which  bears  evidence  to  their  great  engineering 
skill. 

[  163  ] 


'  CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

The  great  Roman  streets  were  at  that  time  the 
chief  and  only  means  of  quick  communication  from 
one  camp  to  another.  To  read  the  account  of  the 
wonderful  system  of  roads  organised  by  Darius  the 
Persian  is  as  interesting  to  follow  as  any  modern 
fiction.  He  realised  that  quick  communication 
with  the  outlying  quarters  of  his  possessions  meant 
increased  power  and  security.  Along  the  roads,  at 
proper  distances,  were  blockhouses  guarded  by 
soldiers.  The  messenger  on  horseback  drew  rein 
at  each  of  these  wayside  places  to  take  refreshment 
and  get  a  remount,  or  to  hand  over  the  dispatches 
to  a  fresh  messenger. 

In  much  the  same  way  the  Romans  constructed 
their  roads  for  their  postmen,  and,  no  doubt,  to 
serve  as  their  first  line  of  defence  if  a  retreat  should 
be  necessary.  We  can  almost  conjure  up  the  sight 
of  a  mounted  bearer  of  important  dispatches  racing 
along.  Suddenly  the  horse,  almost  thrown  on  to 
his  haunches,  is  pulled  up  in  front  of  one  of  these 
;  guardhouses  dotted  at  regular  intervals  along  the 
great  road.  A  hasty  meal  is  snatched,  a  fresh 
horse  mounted,  and  off  again,  with  a  clatter  and  a 
whirlpool  of  dust,  hurries  the  messenger,  as  if  a 
kingdom  depended  upon  his  quick  dispatch.  We 
cannot  attach  too  much  importance  to  this  method 
of  communication,  if  we  remember  that  it  is  only 

[164] 


ROCHESTER 

within  the  last  two  centuries  or.  so  that  the  sema- 
phore came  into  existence.  When  first  introduced, 
this  medium  of  conveying  rapidly  a  message  by 
the  waving  of  a  wooden  arm  up  and  down  on  a 
post,  which  was  generally  planted  on  a  command- 
ing site,  was  considered  a  wonderful  invention. 
Even  at  sea  it  was  left  to  Admiral  Rodney  to  con- 
struct an  efficient  code  of  signals.  Of  course  the 
most  primitive  method  was  the  lighting  of  beacons 
in  times  of  great  danger. 

Besides  Watling  Street,  the  city  of  Rochester 
is  known  to  have  been  defended  by  walls  built 
in  the  direction  of  the  cardinal  points,  according 
to  the  Roman  custom.  They  extended  for  half 
a  mile  from  east  to  west,  and  close  upon  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  north  to  south.  After  the  Romans 
had  departed,  this  place  came  into  the  possession 
of  the  Saxons.  They  renamed  it  "  Hrove  Ceaster," 
which  in  process  of  time  became  contracted  to 
Rochester. 

During  the  early  Saxon  period  Ethelbert,  King 
of  Kent,  through  the  influence  of  his  queen  and 
the  preaching  of  St.  Augustine,  who  had  just 
arrived,  became  a  convert  to  Christianity.  By 
this  king,  as  we  have  seen,  Canterbury  Cathedral 
was  richly  endowed.  To  help  carry  out  the  papal 
instructions  given  to  Augustine,  Ethelbert  in   600 

[  165  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

founded  a  church  in  Rochester.  By  erecting  this 
into  a  see,  he,  at  the  same  time,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  future  prosperity  of  the  city.  The 
building  was  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew.  A  monas- 
tery for  secular  priests  was  also  established,  over 
whom  was  appointed  for  their  bishop,  Justus,  who 
had  accompanied  St.  Augustine  and  his  forty  monks 
into  Britain. 

This  cathedral  suffered  at  many  times,  in  com- 
mon with  the  city,  from  several  incursions  of  the 
Danes.  The  city,  more  especially  in  676,  was 
sacked  and  almost  destroyed  by  Etheldred,  the 
King  of  Mercia,  whilst  in  839  the  Danes  landed  at 
Romney,  defeated  the  troops  sent  to  oppose  them, 
and  massacred  most  of  the  inhabitants.  Again,  in 
885,  they  sailed  up  the  Medway  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Hasting,  and  laid  siege  to  Rochester. 
Fortunately  for  the  city  it  was  rescued  by  the 
timely  assistance  of  Alfred.  Three  mints  estab- 
lished by  Athelstan  in  930,  two  for  himself  and 
one  for  the  bishop,  and  the  fact  of  the  city  being 
then  recognised  as  one  of  the  chief  ports  of 
England,  show  with  what  rapidity  it  had  re- 
gained prosperity.  This  peaceful  state  was  rudely 
awakened,  however,  in  999.  The  Danes  reap- 
peared in  the  Medway,  before  whom  the  terror- 
stricken  inhabitants  fled  and  abandoned  the  city  to 

[166] 


ROCHESTER 

their  fury.  At  the  Conquest,  Rochester  was  given 
by  William  to  his  half-brother,  Odo,  Bishop  of 
Bayeux,  who  was  also  created  Earl  of  Kent.  In 
the  reign  of  William  Rufus  he  was  implicated  in  a 
conspiracy  to  dethrone  Rufus  in  favour  of  Robert 
Duke  of  Normandy.  Thereby  his  possessions 
reverted  to  the  Crown.  In  this  Rochester  suf- 
fered. In  1 1  30  Henry  I.  attended  at  the  conse- 
cration of  the  church  of  St.  Andrew  by  Lanfranc. 
During  the  ceremony  a  fire  broke  out.  The  city 
was  almost  reduced  to  ashes. 

It  was  again  visited,  seven  years  later,  by  fire, 
from  which  it  had  hardly  recovered  when  a 
third  conflagration  occurred  and  left  traces  of 
devastation  for  ages.  In  1141,  Robert  Earl  of 
Gloucester  was  placed  in  the  Castle.  He  was 
the  chief  general  and  counsellor  of  Matilda,  and 
had  been  captured  prisoner  at  Winchester  after 
having  effected  the  Queen's  escape.  He  was 
eventually  exchanged  for  King  Stephen.  In  121 5 
the  barons  seized  and  held  the  Castle  against 
King  John,  who  gained  it.  Henry  III.  repaired 
the  Castle. 

The  Castle  was  again,  in  1 254,  successfully 
defended  for  the  King  by  Edward  Earl  Warren, 
against  Simon  de  Montford  and  the  barons.  In 
the  reign  of  Richard  II.  the  insurrectionists  under 

[169] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Wat  Tyler  released  one  of  their  comrades  im- 
prisoned in  the   Castle. 

Rochester  has  been  at  different  times  visited  by 
reigning  princes.  Henry  VIII.,  with  Emperor 
Charles  V.,  came  there  in  1521,  whilst  in  1573 
Queen  Elizabeth  honoured  it  with  her  presence. 
Charles  II.,  on  his  restoration,  passed  through  the 
city  en  route  from  the  Continent  to  London.  In 
fact  Rochester,  being  also  a  port,  was  a  convenient 
place  for  James  II.  to  embark  secretly  on  board  of 
a  trading-vessel  lying  in  the  Medway,  by  which  he 
was  conveyed  to  France. 

This  Norman  castle,  which  has  played  such  an 
important  part  in  the  history  of  the  city,  deserves 
some  notice.  Its  extensive  remains,  situated  on  a 
commanding  site,  overlook  the  right  bank  of  the 
river.  The  Castle  is  supposed  to  have  been  built 
by  Gundulph,  when  Bishop  of  Rochester,  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  eleventh  century.  It  preceded 
by  a  few  years  the  building  of  the  Cathedral  by  the 
same  prelate.  The  architecture  of  this  castle  is  a 
striking  example  of  the  simplicity  of  plans  generally 
employed  by  the  Normans.  By  preference  the 
castle  was  a  rectangular  keep  in  form.  The  sides 
varied  from  twenty-five  to  a  hundred  feet  in  length, 
and  equally  so  in  height.  At  the  corners  the  walls 
advanced  so  as  to  form  square  towers,  the  faces  of 

[  170] 


ROCHESTER 

which  were  usually  relieved  by  flat  pilaster-like 
buttresses.  The  walls  at  the  base  measure  some- 
times as  much  as  thirty  feet  in  thickness,  and 
diminish   to  as  much  as  ten  feet  at   the  summit. 

The  internal  arrangements  consisted  of  a  store- 
room, from  which  a  narrow  staircase,  made  into 
the  thickness  of  the  walls,  gave  access  to  the  rooms 
of  the  garrison  and  those  of  the  owners  above,  wood 
being  employed  for  the  floor  and  roof.  A  well  was 
always  dug.  The  entire  building  was  surrounded 
by  a  deep  moat  filled,  if  possible,  with  water.  The 
entrance  was  small,  and  was  defended  by  a  draw- 
bridge and  portcullis.  It  was  on  the  thickness  of 
their  walls  and  the  moat  that  the  Normans  chiefly 
relied  for  their  impregnability.  They  seldom 
departed  from  this  simple  form  of  architecture. 
Their  defence  was  rarely  constructed  on  a  series  of 
fortifications.  Local  advantages  and  a  lofty  site 
were  invariably  the  Norman  idea  of  a  safe  strong- 
hold. 

Great  interest  is  attached  to  the  Cathedral  of 
Rochester.  Its  see  is  the  smallest  in  the  kingdom 
and  the  most  ancient  after  Canterbury.  The  two 
were  established,  as  we  have  seen,  within  a  few 
years  of  each  other,  under  the  auspices  of  St. 
Augustine  and  King  Ethelbert  of  Kent. 

The    present    cathedral    dates    from    the    com- 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

mencement  of  the  twelfth  century,  when  it  was 
built  by  Gundulph.  If  what  we  are  told  about 
this  structure  be  correct,  its  importance  cannot  be 
too  greatly  enhanced,  for  it  is  claimed  that  its 
architecture,  though  much  altered  and  repaired 
since,  is  in  the  main  a  copy  of  Canterbury 
Cathedral  at  that  time.  Thus,  in  describing  the 
plan  of  the  one  in  Rochester,  a  general  idea  can 
be  gained  about  the  other  at  Canterbury. 

Gundulph's  contribution  is  a  spacious  and  vener- 
able building  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  with  a  central 
tower  surmounted  by  a  spire.  The  Norman  style 
forms  the  basis  of  the  architecture,  to  which  the 
Later  English  style  was  added  chiefly  in  the  many 
windows  of  the  nave  and  other  parts  of  the  church. 
The  west  front  was  entirely  restored  between  1888 
and  1889,  the  Norman  style  being  strictly  adhered 
to.  The  doorway  is  a  most  decorative  bit  of 
Norman  workmanship.  Let  into  the  clustered 
columns  on  either  side  there  is,  on  the  right,  an 
effigy  of  Queen  Maud,  and  on  the  left  another  of 
Henry  I.  The  door  is  covered  with  a  rich  mass 
of  geometrical  design  in  metal. 

The  crypt,  invariably  a  great  feature  in  a 
cathedral,  is  partly  the  work  of  Gundulph  ;  that 
is,  the  western  portion  is.  The  eastern  part  con- 
sists of  cylindrical  and  octagonal  shafts  with  a  light 


ROCHESTER 

vaulting  springing  from  them,  and  belongs  to  the 
same  period  as  the  superstructure  of  the  thirteenth 
century. 

There  are  several  chapels,  a  finely  groined  roof, 
and  ancient  tombs,  which  all  lend  interest  to  this 
fine  cathedral. 

The  red-veined  marble  statue  of  Walter  de 
Merton  cannot  fail  to  attract  attention.  He  was 
the  founder  of  the  great  scholastic  college  at 
Oxford  called  Merton  College.  Though  small 
in  size,  the  entree  to  it  demands  high  classical 
attainments. 

With  regard  to  commerce,  Rochester  has  a 
favourable  position  on  the  river  Medway,  in  the 
creeks  and  branches  of  which  are  the  oyster 
fisheries.  The  Corporation,  assisted  by  a  jury  of 
free  dredgers,  hold  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  in  which 
they  make  regulations  for  the  opening,  stocking, 
and  closing  of  the  oyster  beds. 

In  conclusion,  we  cannot  help  saying  that  Kent 
should  be  a  proud  county,  possessing,  as  it  does, 
the  two  most  ancient  sees  in  the  kingdom,  the 
dioceses  of  which  are  separated  only  by  the 
Medway. 


[  173] 


("Doomsday  Book.") 

IN  the  West  Riding  of  the  county  of  York, 
twenty-two  miles  north-west  of  the  city  of 
York  and  eleven  miles  north  of  Harrogate, 
the  ancient  city  of  Ripon  is  situated  at  the  juncture 
of  the  Ure,  Laver,  and  Skell.  The  narrow  and 
irregular  streets  and  well-built  houses,  some  of 
which  still  retain  the  quaint,  picturesque  gables  so 
reminiscent  of  earlier  times,  envelop  the  city  with 
that  delightful,  indefinable  air  of  medi^evalism  —  a 
something  which,  tempered  with  old  associations  ' 
and  traditions,  no  modern  city  with  all  its  improve- 
ments can  supply.  To  saunter  through  the  ancient, 
ill-lighted  streets  of  an  old  town  at  night,  when  life 
is  dormant  and  commercialism  quiescent,  is  the 
time  to  view  unexpected  beauties  of  architecture 
unfold  themselves,  and  to  become  oneself  imbued 
with  a  spirit  of  romanticism  and  a  feeling  of  rest. 
If  a  figure  in  mediaeval  costume  and  rapier  were  to 
come  round  a  corner  suddenly,  or  emerge  from 

[174] 


RIPON 

some  dark  nook,  it  would  scarcely  startle  the 
senses,  so  appropriate  would  it  seem  with  the  sur- 
roundings, enshrouded  in  mysterious  shadows. 

A  new  city  can  be  admired,  but  can  never  be 
revered  till  it  has  survived  the  many  storms  of 
generations,  and  has  emerged  with  a  halo  of  tra- 
ditions respected  and  treasured. 

Ripon,  in  common  with  other  cathedral  cities, 
possesses  this  charm,  and  after  many  vicissitudes 
presents  us  with  a  magnificent  cathedral.  To 
revert  to  the  commencement  of  the  city's  history, 
it  is  supposed  to  have  derived  its  name  from  the 
Latin  "  Ripa,"  owing  to  its  situation  upon  the 
bank  of  the  river  Ure.  The  earliest  authentic 
record  gives  it  under  the  name  of  Inhrypun,  in 
connection  with  the  establishment  of  a  monastery 
in  660  by  Eata,  who  was  then  Abbot  of  Melrose. 
It  was  subsequently  given  by  Alfred,  King  of 
Northumbria,  to  Wilfrid,  who  had  been  raised  to 
the  archbishopric  of  York.  He  was  afterwards 
canonised  as  a  saint.  Under  Wilfrid's  administra- 
tion and  influence  the  town  very  much  increased  its 
wealth  and  importance.  Through  the  division  of 
the  bishopric  in  the  year  678  Ripon  became  a  see. 

A  great  calamity  overtook  the  city  in  the  ninth 
century.  The  Danes  burnt  and  plundered  it, 
causing  such  devastation  that  it  was  almost  wiped 

[175] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

out.  From  its  ruins,  however,  it  recovered  so 
quickly  as  to  be  incorporated  as  a  royal  borough 
by  Alfred  the  Great.  This  happened  by  the  year 
886.  In  the  suppression  of  the  insurrections  of 
the  Northumbrian  Danes  it  suffered  severely 
through  the  terrible  laying  waste  of  the  land 
which  Edred  found  necessary  to  subdue  them. 

Little  time  was  left  for  the  city  to  regain  its 
former  prosperity,  when  the  surrounding  country 
was  again  laid  waste,  in  1069,  by  William  the 
Conqueror  after  defeating  the  Northumbrian 
rebels.  This  monarch's  vengeance  so  completely 
demolished  the  town  that  it  still  remained  in  ruins 
and  the  land  uncultivated  at  the  time  of  the 
Norman  survey.  The  monastery,  destroyed  by 
Edred,  was  rebuilt  by  Oswald  and  his  successors, 
who  were  archbishops  of  York.  It  was  endowed 
and  made  collegiate  by  Archbishop  Aldred  some- 
where about  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  The  city 
was  now  enjoying  comparative  peace,  and  was 
regaining  lost  prestige  when  it  again  became  a 
mere  wreck.  Under  Robert  Bruce,  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  II.,  the  Scots  compelled  the  inhabitants 
to  surrender  everything  of  value  they  had,  and 
burnt  the  town.  This  period  of  devastation  lasted 
from  I  319  till  I  323. 

By  the  exertions  of  the  Archbishop  of  York, 

[176] 


O    £ 


RIPON 

ably  assisted  with  donations  from  the  local  gentry, 
the  city  rapidly  recovered  by  the  time  a  terrible 
plague  compelled  Henry  IV.  to  leave  London  and 
take  up  his  residence  here.  The  court  of  necessity 
followed  him. 

This  royal  sojourn  did  the  city  immense  good, 
and  again  it  derived  benefit  some  two  centuries 
after  by  the  presence  of  the  Lord  President  of  York 
in  1617.  He  had  been  obliged  by  a  similar  plague 
to  remove  his  court  hither. 

Ten  years  later  another  royal  visitor  came, 
namely,  James  L,  who  rested  a  night  here  on  his 
route  from  Scotland  to  London.  On  this  memorable 
occasion  he  was  presented  with  a  pair  of  Ripon  spurs. 
From  early  times  till  the  sixteenth  century  Ripon 
was  a  recognised  centre  for  the  manufacture  of 
woollen  caps.  On  the  decline  of  this  industry  the 
city  acquired  such  a  fame  for  the  manufacture  of 
spurs  that  it  became  quite  a  current  phrase  to  say 
"as  true  steel  as  Ripon  rowels."  Ben  Jonson  and 
Davenant  make  references  in  their  verses  to  Ripon 
spurs.  This  industry,  together  with  those  of  manu- 
facturing buttons  and  various  kinds  of  hardware, 
flourished  till  quite  recently,  when  mechanical 
industries  supplanted  them. 

In    1633    Charles   I.   also  paid  the  city  a   visit. 
During  the  Civil  War  the  parliamentary  troops, 

[  179] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

under  Sir  Thomas  Mauleverer,  took  possession  of 
Ripon.  After  mutilating  many  of  the  monuments 
and  ornaments  of  the  church,  they  were  eventually 
driven  out  of  the  town  in  1643  by  the  Royalists, 
under  Sir  John  Mallory  of  Studley,  a  township 
comprised  under  Ripon.  In  recounting  the  polit- 
ical fortunes  of  the  city  little  has  been  said  about 
its  chief  attraction,  the  Cathedral,  not  because  it 
has  played  no  important  factor  in  the  welfare  of 
the  city,  but  because  it  has  been  considered  better 
to  give,  apart,  the  chief  characteristics  of  its 
architecture. 

We  have  seen  how  a  monastery  was  established 
in  660,  by  Eata,  which  later  came  under  the  patron- 
age of  St.  Wilfrid.  From  the  ruins  of  St.  Wilfrid's 
Abbey  the  present  cathedral  was  founded  about 
680  A.  D.,  in  the  reign  of  Egfrid.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  St.  Wilfrid's  crypt,  called  St.  Wilfrid's 
Needle,  which  tradition  says  was  used  for  the  trial 
of  female  chastity,  nothing  of  the  original  Saxon 
fabric  remains.  From  the  similarity  of  this  crypt, 
and  of  another  at  Hexham,  both  erected  by  St. 
Wilfrid,  in  formation  and  arrangement  to  the  cata- 
comb chapels  at  Rome,  it  is  inferred  that  this 
churchman  had  made  himself  familiar  with  their 
peculiarities  during  his  residence  in  that  Latin 
city.     This  is  interesting  to  note. 

[180] 


RIPON 

The  Cathedral,  as  it  now  stands,  embraces  vari- 
ous styles  of  architecture,  and  is  dedicated  to  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Wilfrid.  It  is  a  large  cruciform 
church,  with  a  square  central  tower  and  two  west- 
ern towers.  They  at  one  time  carried  spires,  each 
not  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  height; 
but  the  central  spire  having  been  blown  down  in 
1660,  caused  considerable  damage  to  the  roof,  and 
it  was  thought  advisable  to  pull  down  the  others. 
Their  removal  accounts  for  the  stunted  appearance 
of  these  square  towers.  The  construction  of  the 
present  church  was  commenced  by  Archbishop 
Roger,  dating  from  1 154  to  1 181.  To  this  period 
belong  the  transepts  and  portions  of  the  choir. 
The  western  front  and  towers  were  carried  out  in 
the  Early  English  style,  most  probably  by  Arch- 
bishop Gray,  between  1215  and  1255,  and  near  the 
close  of  the  century  the  eastern  portion  of  the  choir 
was  rebuilt  in  the  Decorated  style.  The  nave  and 
part  of  the  central  tower  were  also  rebuilt  in  the 
Perpendicular  style  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  fabric  was  entirely  renovated  under 
the  guidance  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  from  1862  to 
1876.  The  episcopal  palace  is  a  modern  building 
in  the  Tudor  style,  and  is  about  one  mile  from  the 
town. 

The  present  bishopric  dates  only  from  the  year 

[181] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

1836.  There  are  several  charitable  institutions: 
namely,  the  Hospital  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
founded  by  an  archbishop  of  York  in  11 09;  the 
Hospital  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  for  women, 
by  another  prelate  of  York  in  1341;  and  the 
Hospital  of  St.  Anne,  by  some  unknown  benefactor 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  A  clock- 
tower  was  presented  to  the  town  to  commemorate 
Queen  Victoria's  Diamond  Jubilee.  There  is  now, 
in  place  of  the  ancient  industries,  an  extensive  trade 
in  varnish,  in  addition  to  the  manufactories  for 
saddle-trees  and  leather,  but  the  most  interesting 
industry  is  that  of  the  Ripon  lace.  It  is  a  torchon 
lace  much  resembling,  in  uniformity  of  pattern,  the 
design  used  in  peasant  laces  in  Sweden,  Germany, 
and  Russia. 


[182] 


ei^ 


Ely. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

IN  the  early  history  of  the  majority,  if  not  of  all 
of  these  cathedrals,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
the  many  points  of  resemblance.  It  will  be 
observed  that  most  of  them  had  their  inception  in 
the  seventh  century.  A  most  convenient  way  also 
of  remembering,  if  actual  dates  be  forgotten,  is  that 
the  commencement  of  the  same  century  heralded 
the  arrival  of  St.  Augustine  and  his  forty  monks  at 
Canterbury,  and  the  re-establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity in  England.  Whatever  previous  efforts 
had  been  attempted  to  christianise  the  natives 
(prior  to  this  century)  pale  into  insignificance 
after  the  landing  of  this  great  missionary  from 
Rome.  The  subsequent  important  events  are 
invariably  five ;  namely,  the  devastations  of  the 
Danes  in  the  ninth  century,  the  erections  of  castles 
to  overawe  the  inhabitants  with  the  ecclesiastical 
foundations,  still  extant,  after  the  dreaded  mil- 
lennium had  passed,  from  the  Conquest ;  the  dis- 

[183] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

solution  of  the  monasteries  by  Henry  VIII. ;  the 
desecration  and  mutilation  of  the  churches  under 
Cromwell's  Protectorate ;  and  the  inevitable 
restoration,  not  always  happy,  of  these  grand 
buildings. 

The  Venerable  Bede,  in  his  "  Ecclesiastical 
History,"  ingeniously  attributes  the  derivation  of 
the  name  to  an  eel,  called  *'  Elge,"  on  the  assump- 
tion cf  the  great  abundance  of  this  fish  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. At  the  same  time  another  rendering,  by 
some  one  else,  supposes  that  the  Saxon  "  Helyg," 
a  willow,  which  flourished  extensively,  owing  to 
the  marshy  nature  of  the  soil  round  about  the  city, 
gave  rise  to  the  present  contraction.  However  it 
may  be,  Ely  dates  from  the  year  673.  The 
subsequent  history  of  the  Church  and  state  of  this 
famous  place  originated  in  that  year  from  the 
small  foundation  of  a  monastery  for  monks  and 
nuns  by  Ethelreda.  This  princess  was  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  the  East  Angles,  and  the 
wife  of  Egfred,  the  King  of  Northumberland. 
She  had  devoted  a  great  deal  of  her  life  to 
monasticism,  and  eventually  constituted  herself  as 
the  first  abbess  of  her  religious  effort.  A  contra- 
dictory account  gives  it  that  this  lady  more  likely 
became  the  first  abbess  of  a  religious  house  which 
she  had  filled  with  virgins.     Their  number  is  not 

[  184  ] 


i^~^^rpt^7' 


M:  5  9 


i^'^ 


ELY 

FROM    THE     WEST    FRONT 


':w^- 


ELY 

stated.  Nothing  more  is  heard  or  worth  relating 
of  the  welfare  of  this  royal  benefice  until  the 
ninth  century,  when,  in  the  natural  order  of 
things,  it  was  destroyed  by  the  Danes.  In  879, 
a  matter  of  nine  years  after  this  devastation,  it 
was  partially  restored  by  those  brethren  who 
had  fortunately  escaped  the  massacre.  Under  the 
government  of  provosts  they  were  established  and 
existed  as  secular  priests  for  nearly  a  century.  At 
the  end  of  this  period  of  inactivity  it  received 
much  attention  from  Ethelwold,  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester. This  prelate  in  970  purchased  the  whole 
of  the  Isle  of  Ely  from  Edgar.  He  then  rebuilt 
the  monastery  and  endowed  it  munificently.  In 
it  regular  monks  were  placed  under  the  rule  of  an 
abbot,  to  whom  Edgar  granted  the  secular  juris- 
diction of  two  hundreds  within  and  five  hundreds 
without  the  Fens.  Many  other  important  privi- 
leges were  bestowed  by  the  same  monarch,  recog- 
nised by  Canute,  and  greatly  increased  by  Edward 
the  Confessor  in  recognition  of  part  of  his  education 
here  received.  These  many  marks  of  royal  favour 
caused  it  to  become  the  richest  in  England,  and 
the  city  participated  in  its  prosperity. 

Soon  after  the  Conquest  a  determined  resistance 
was  made  by  many  of  the  nobility  against  what 
they  considered  the  tyranny  of  William.      Led  by 

[  187  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

such  leaders  as  Edwin,  Earl  of  Chester,  Egelwyn, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  and  headed  by  Hereward,  an 
English  nobleman,  they  contrived  to  do  consider- 
able damage  in  the  surrounding  country.  They 
built  a  castle  of  wood  in  the  Fens,  and  made  a 
vigorous  stand  against  the  Normans,  who  besieged 
the  island,  constructed  roads  through  the  marshes, 
threw  bridges  across  the  streams,  and  erected,  as 
usual,  a  strong  castle  at  Wiseberum.  With  the 
exception  of  Hereward,  the  rebellious  subjects  were 
reduced  to  submission.  According  to  one  authority, 
it  is  supposed  that  William's  camp  was  simply  an 
old  Roman  camp  repaired  for  the  occasion.  We 
learn  that  the  field,  which  contained  the  ancient 
site,  was  known  as  Belasis  in  some  records  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  III.  It  appears  that  one  of  Wil- 
liam's generals  was  called  Belasis,  and  that  he  was 
quartered  on  the  monastery,  which  he  had  taken 
possession  of  after  the  conquest  of  the  isle.  He 
treated  .  the  monks  with  every  mark  of  courtesy, 
allowing  them  to  remain  under  an  abbot  of  his 
own  choosing.  At  first  he  laid  them  under  certain 
restrictions,  but  subsequently  restored  the  privileges 
they  had  previously  been  accustomed  to. 

In  1 1 07  the  eleventh  and  last  abbot,  Richard, 
employed  all  his  interest  with  Henry  I.  and  gained 
the  royal  sanction  to  the  establishment  of  an  epis- 

[188] 


^m 


\ 


ELY 

copal  see  at  Ely.  To  this  the  monarch  granted, 
for  a  diocese,  the  county  of  Cambridge,  which  had 
till  then  been  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln.  The  isle  was  also  invested  with 
sovereign  powers.  Richard,  however,  did  not 
live  to  become  the  first  bishop,  an  honour  which 
was  conferred  in  1109  on  his  successor,  Hervey. 

By  this  arrangement  the  Abbot  was  superseded 
by  the  Bishop,  and  an  entire  distribution  of  the 
property  belonging  to  the  abbey  was  effected 
between  them.  As  the  abbey  became  the  church 
of  the  See,  the  Abbot  was  obliged  to  alter  his 
dignity  to  that  of  a  prior.  A  fair,  to  continue  for 
seven  days,  commencing  from  June  20,  to  com- 
memorate the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Ethelreda, 
was  instituted  by  the  Bishop.  The  prelate  Nigel, 
in  the  reign  of  Stephen,  built  a  castle  here,  of 
which  no  remains  exist,  and  whose  site  is  now 
conjectural.  The  year  1216  witnessed  dreadful 
scenes  of  spoliation  of  churches  and  large  sums 
of  money  exacted  from  the  inhabitants  under  the 
guise  of  ransom. 

The  cause  of  all  this  devastation  being  visited 
upon  Ely  was  John's  idea  of  revenging  himself 
upon  the  barons.  At  their  hands  he  had,  the  year 
previously,  been  compelled  to  undergo  the  mortifi- 
cation of  signing  the  Magna  Charta  at  Runny  mede. 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

a  field  between  Windsor  and  Staines.  Ever  since 
that  time  the  irresolute  and  mean  king  had  been 
devising  schemes  of  vengeance  against  his  oppo- 
nents. Three  months  spent  in  the  Isle  of  Wight 
had  enabled  him,  through  agents  and  the  promise 
of  the  estates  of  the  barons  as  plunder,  to  raise  a 
considerable  army  of  the  Brabanters.  At  their 
head  he  suddenly  emerged  from  concealment,  and 
surprised  the  barons  by  appearing  before  Rochester 
Castle  and  defeating  them. 

In  the  meantime  John  was  well  supported  at 
Ely  by  his  general,  William  Bunk,  or  rather  an 
unexpected  incident  hurried  on  its  doom.  The 
elements  unkindly  betrayed  the  city  into  the  hands 
of  the  Brabanters.  At  a  critical  time,  the  treacher- 
ous swamps  —  the  isle's  hitherto  great  natural  forti- 
fications—  became  the  city's  undoing;  for  a  sharp 
frost  set  in  and  rendered  a  ready  glacial  access  to 
the  city.  The  enemy  lost  no  time  in  reducing  the 
barons  to  submission  and  the  wretched  inhabitants 
to  great  misery.  The  barons,  thus  reduced  to  dire 
extremities,  invited  Louis,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
King  of  France,  to  aid  them,  promising  him 
through  his  wife  the  crown  of  England. 

The  French  landed  at  Sandwich,  retook  Roch- 
ester Castle,  and  compelled  John  to  flee.  John, 
crossing  over  the  Wash,  in  his  march  from  Lynn 

[  192  ] 


ELY 

INTERIOR     OF    THE    NAVE 


ELY 

in  Norfolk  into  Lincolnshire,  suffered  great  loss 
through  the  return  of  the  tide  swamping  the  rear 
of  his  army,  all  his  money,  and  stores.  He 
himself  escaped  to  Swineshead  Abbey,  in  the 
Lincolnshire  Fens,  where  a  monk  is  said  to  have 
administered  poison  to  him.  With  great  difficulty 
and  exhaustion  the  monarch  arrived  at  Newark, 
where  he  died  in  the  October  of  the  year  1216. 

From  this  time  onward  the  city  enjoyed  com- 
parative peace,  and  exercised  the  privileges  granted 
by  Edgar,  Edward  the  Confessor,  and  William  the 
Conqueror. 

Till  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIIL  the  royal  franchise  of  Ely,  in  several 
statutes,  was  recognised  as  the  county  palatine  of 
Ely.  Henry,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  remodelled 
the  privileges,  and  ordered  the  justices  of  oyer 
and  terminer,  and  gaol  delivery,  and  justices  of  the 
peace  for  the  Isle  of  Ely,  to  be  appointed  by  letters 
patent  under  the  Great  Seal.  The  dissolution  of 
the  monasteries  also  was  the  means  of  converting 
the  conventual  church  into  a  cathedral  —  much 
more  appropriate  to  the  dignity  of  the  Bishop, 
whose  title  had  been  granted,  as  we  have  seen,  by 
Henry  L  in  11 07.  This  ecclesiastical  building, 
first  a  conventual  and  then  a  cathedral  church, 
was  commenced  in  1081,  and  entirely  completed 

[195] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

in    1534.      The    dedication   to   St.   Peter   and    St. 
'     Ethelreda  was  changed  to  "The  Holy  Trinity." 

It  is  a  magnificent  cruciform  structure,  displaying 
the  many  changes  that  took  place  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture  from  the  early  years  of  the  Norman 
Conquest  down  to  the  latest  period  of  English 
style. 

The  main  feature  is  the  extraordinary  variety  of 
arches  built  according  to  successive  styles.  Though 
this  peculiar  treatment  suggests  an  unfinished 
appearance,  it  cannot  rob  the  church  of  its 
wonderful  beauty.  There  is  a  departure  from 
the  general  plan  of  other  cathedrals.  The  nave 
is  continued  through  an  extended  range  of  twelve 
arches.  It  belongs  to  the  Late  Norman  period, 
and  its  completion  probably  dates  from  about  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century.  From  11 74  to 
1 1 89  the  western  tower  and  the  transepts  were 
built  by  Bishop  Ridall.  Bishop  Eustace,  between 
1 198  and  1 215,  erected  the  Galilee  or  western 
porch,  a  noble  Early  English  structure.  Much 
at  the  same  time  a  curious  coincident  is  noticeable. 
Bishop  Pudsey  was  busy  at  Durham  building  the 
Galilee  or  Western  Chapel,  which  is  such  a  noble 
adjunct  to  that  city's  cathedral. 

Ely's  choir  was  originally  Early  Norman,  and 
terminated  in  an  apse.     Unfortunately  this  Norman 

[196] 


ELY 

apse  was  destroyed.  In  restoration  the  church  was 
extended  eastward  by  six  more  arches  under  the 
guidance  of  Bishop  Northwold,  about  the  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  His  addition  is  Early 
English.     The  carving  is  very  rich  and  elaborate. 

While  Bishop  Hotham  was  engaged  upon  the 
building  of  the  Lady  Chapel,  the  Norman  tower 
erected  by  Abbot  Simeon  tumbled  down  in  1321. 
Hotham  immediately  replaced  it  by  an  enlarged 
octagonal  substitution.  On  it  he  placed  a  lofty 
lantern  of  wood,  a  rich  ornament  and  in  good  keep- 
ing with  the  rest  of  the  holy  edifice.  Though  this 
prelate  deserves  every  recognition,  yet  we  are  much 
more  indebted  to  Alan  of  Walsingham,  who  designed 
the  Lady  Chapel  and  the  octagonal  tower  and 
lantern  so  ably  carried  out  by  Hotham.  Alan  had 
also  made  his  influence  felt  in  the  choir-bays  of  this 
same  cathedral,  where  he  has  so  cleverly  preserved 
and  combined  the  old  Early  English  elegance  of 
proportion  with  richness  of  detail.  Under  the  super- 
intendence of  Sir  G.  B.  Scott  the  fabric  has  been 
extensively  restored. 

Attached  to  the  Cathedral  is  the  church  of  Holy 
Trinity  ;  it  was  formerly  the  Lady  Chapel  of  the 
Cathedral.  It  was  commenced  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  II.,  and  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  buildings 
of  that  age.     Another  handsome  church  is  that 

[  199  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  and  is  partly  Norman  and 
partly  Early  English  in  character. 

At  the  Grammar  School,  founded  by  Henry 
VIII.,  Jeremiah  Bentham,  the  celebrated  political 
writer,  received  the  rudiments  of  his  education. 
The  Sessions  House,  the  new  Corn  Exchange, 
and  Mechanics'  Institute  are  other  notable  features 
of  Ely. 

An  historic  relic,  now  preserved  at  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  is  the  "  Ely  Book."  It  cannot 
be  passed  over  without  a  word.  On  a  page  are 
portrayed  Ethelwold  and  King  Edgar,  but  its  chief 
importance  is  the  record  of  instructions  received  by 
the  commissioners  to  supply  details  and  valuation  of 
property  for  the  "  Doomsday  Book."  The  inquiries 
and  answers  indicate  that  England  had  already 
been  divided  up  into  manors,  and  furnish  besides  a 
variety  of  most  interesting  information. 

Another  incident  in  the  history  of  Ely,  if  not  of 
great  importance  to  the  city,  is  nevertheless  an 
interesting  insight  of  the  respective  position  of  the 
Church  and  State  soon  after  the  dissolution. 

In  the  good  days  of  Queen  Bess,  the  Bishop  of 
Ely  received  a  royal  rebuke. 

In  the  great  struggle  between  the  Protestants,  or 
anti-papal  world,  and  the  Catholic  reaction,  there 
was  little  leisure  for  the  clergy  to  air  their  griev- 

[   200  ] 


ELY 

ances.  They  were  compelled  to  submit  to  the  will 
of  the  Queen  and  her  counsellor  Cecil,  from  whom 
Archbishop  Parker  of  Canterbury  received  his  cue 
for  the  government  of  the  Church.  Though  he 
enjoyed  the  personal  confidence  of  Elizabeth  be- 
yond any  other  ecclesiastic  of  the  time,  his  com- 
plaints were  unavailing.  The  supremacy  of  the 
lay  power  over  the  ecclesiastical  was  too  thoroughly 
accomplished  to  allow  of  the  Church  to  exist  apart 
in  the  early  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign.  The  Bishop 
of  Ely,  for  expressing  unwillingness  to  hand  over  the 
gardens  of  Ely  house  to  Sir  Christopher  Hatton, 
received  a  characteristic  warning,  couched  in  ele- 
gant language,  for  his  temerity.  "  By  God,  I  will 
unfrock  you  !  "  was  the  Queen's  gracious  answer 
to  the  daring  prelate,  if  he  did  not  mend  his  ways. 

Through  the  cultivation  of  its  fertile  soil  by 
market-gardeners,  Ely  offers  its  produce  to  the 
London   market. 

A  considerable  factory  for  earthenware  and  to- 
bacco-pipes, and  numerous  mills  for  the  preparation 
of  oil  from  flax,  hemp,  and  cole-seed,  help  to 
furnish  the  trade  resources  of  this  historical  town, 
which  is  situated  on  the  river  Ouse,  in  Cambridge- 
shire,  and  just  sixteen  miles  from  the  celebrated 
University  of  Cambridge. 

[  201   ] 


(Gloucester 

Glowecestre. 
"  Doomsday  Book." 

'O  the  long  list  of  "  cesters/*  the  Anglicised 
form  of  the  Latin  "  Castra"  (camp),  must 
be  added  Gloucester,  famous  in  more 
respects  than  one  ;  the  city  where  Henry  I.  died 
from  a  surfeit  of  lampreys,  where  Henry  II.  held  a 
great  council  in  1175,  where  the  coronation  of 
Henry  HI.  in  its  abbey  took  place ;  the  city 
which  the  same  monarch  "  loved  better  than 
London,"  the  city  extolled  by  Bede  as  one  of  the 
noblest  in  the  land.  Prior  to  the  Roman  invasion 
it  is  held  to  have  been  of  considerable  importance, 
and  to  have  originated  from  the  settlement  of  a 
tribe  of  Britons,  called  the  Dobuni.  This  tribe, 
with  that  of  the  Cornavii,  also  controlled  about 
the  same  time  the  destinies  of  Worcester,  now  re- 
nowned for  its  beautiful  china.  By  the  Dobuni  the 
city  was  called  Coer  Glou,  either  out  of  compliment 
to  its  founder  Glowi,  a  native,  with  the  meaning, 
"  the  city  of  Glowi,"  or  because  the  same  British 

[  202  ] 


GLOUCESTER 

words,  according  to  another  interpretation  and  its 
reputation,  can  be  rendered  "  the  fair  city."  In 
the  year  47  this  stronghold  passed  into  the  Roman 
possession,  under  Aulus  Plautius,  and  according  to 
Richard  of  Cirencester,  a  colony  was  established. 
This  he  styles  Glebon,  whilst  the  "  Itinerary  "  of 
Antonine  and  other  ancient  records  enter  it  as 
Glevum   Colonia. 

An  interesting  account  upon  the  Roman  classifi- 
cation of  towns  in  England  discloses  a  very  im- 
portant particular.  It  adds  considerable  weight  to 
the  description  of  the  city  by  the  authors  just 
quoted.  Their  statements  that  Gloucester  was 
classified  as  a  colony  called  Glevum  seemed  to 
be  borne  out  by  a  tombstone  found  at  Rome.  It 
purports  to  be  in  memory  of  a  citizen  of  Glevum. 
This  has  given  rise  to  the  supposition  that 
"  Glevum "  was  the  honourable  title  bestowed 
upon  an  English  town  of  importance  made  a 
"  colony  "  by  Nerva.  This  period  would  be  be- 
tween 96  and  98  A.  D.  This  date  in  no  way  com- 
bats the  original  one  of  47  a.  d.  It  is  only  intended 
to  show  that  Gloucester  at  the  later  period  had 
become  a  colony  with  a  certain  amount  of  self- 
government,  forming  a  unit  of  the  Great  Roman 
Empire. 

The  district  to   the  north-east   of  the  present 

[203] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

city,  called  King's  Holme,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  actual  site  of  the  Roman  camp.  Close  to 
it  was  also  the  palace  belonging  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  kings  of  Mercia,  which  was  called  Regia 
Domus.  Round  about  this  spot  quite  a  valuable 
collection  of  Roman  remains  has  been  made,  which, 
besides  establishing  the  fact  of  their  occupation, 
have  helped  archiEologists  to  form  a  correct  estima- 
tion of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  Latin  invaders. 
When  the  pressing  needs  of  Rome  required  the 
return  of  all  her  legions,  Gloucester  came  to  be 
governed  by  Eldol,  who  was  a  British  chief.  He 
survived  the  terrible  massacre  of  the  Britons  by  the 
Saxons  at  Stonehenge,  and  in  489  revenged  their 
memory  by  killing  Hengist,  the  Saxon  chief,  at 
the  battle  of  Msshill  in  Yorkshire. 

From  the  Britons  the  city  in  ^jj  was  captured 
by  the  Saxons.  They  called  it  Gleauanceaster, 
which  exists  to  this  day  under  the  contracted  form 
of  Gloucester.  At  that  time  it  was  included  in  the 
kingdom  of  Wessex,  and  was  afterwards  annexed 
to  that  of  Mercia.  In  the  meanwhile  tradition 
says  that  a  bishop's  see  was  founded  at  Gloucester 
in  the  second  century.  Lucius,  the  first  Christian 
king  of  Britian,  is  held  to  be  the  founder,  and 
is  also  supposed  to  have  been  buried  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Mary  de  Lode  of  this  city.     With  all  respect 

[  204] 


GLOUCESTER 


INTERIOR     OF     THE     NAVE 


GLOUCESTER] 

to  tradition,  this  can  only  be  accepted  with  reser- 
vation. If  true,  the  present  church  of  St.  Mary 
de  Lode  deserves  far  greater  recognition  than  it 
receives.  Though  evidently  an  old  foundation 
much  restored,  it  can  hardly  lay  claim  to  such 
antiquity.  In  all  probability  a  temple  to  some 
Roman  deity  existed,  which,  by  conflicting 
accounts  of  historians,  gave  rise  to  the  supposition 
of  an  early  established  see.  Though  there  is  proof 
that  Christianity  existed  during  the  Roman  oc- 
cupation of  England,  it  seems  more  likely  that, 
after  their  general  exodus  from  the  island  in  418, 
a  diocese,  if  any,  was  soon  after  established  at 
Gloucester,  over  which  Eldad  presided  in  490. 

This  first  bishopric,  on  the  subversion  of  the 
country  by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  must  have  become 
extinct ;  for  the  next  we  hear  of  it  is  when,  as  part 
of  the  kingdom  of  Mercia,  the  entire  county  of 
Gloucester  is  included  in  the  diocese  of  Lichfield 
at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity. 
However,  the  first  authentic  evidence  of  monasti- 
cism  appears  in  the  year  679,  when  the  holy 
brethren  founded  their  establishment.  Under  the 
auspices  of  Wulfhere,  then  King  of  Mercia,  this 
priory  was  dedicated  to  St.  Oswald,  and  in  the 
same  year  was  annexed  to  the  newly  established 
see    of    Worcester.       It    afterwards    became    the 

[  207  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

abbey.  The  city's  importance  in  the  same  year 
was  considerably  increased  by  the  royal  patron. 
The  King's  brother  and  successor,  Ethelred,  never- 
theless, completed  the  ecclesiastical  building,  which 
some  contend  was  a  nunnery.  This  the  Danes 
destroyed.  It  was  then  refounded  for  the  recep- 
tion of  secular  priests  in  821,  by  Bernulf,  King 
of  Mercia. 

As  early  as  964,  in  a  charter  to  the  monks  of 
Worcester  dated  at  Gloucester,  Edgar  styles  this  a 
"  royal  city."  Several  times  it  suffered  from  the 
incursions  of  the  Danes  in  the  eighth  century,  and 
more  especially  so  in  the  tenth,  when  it  was  taken 
and  nearly  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  reign  of  Ethel- 
red  II.  This  monarch's  reign  seems  to  have  been 
a  disastrous  one  for  the  kingdom.  In  the  first 
place,  through  the  ambitious  schemes  of  his 
mother  Elfrida,  who  caused  his  stepbrother 
Edward  to  be  murdered,  he  wrongfully  occupied 
the  throne  in  979.  On  account  of  his  tragic 
death  Edward  came  to  be  styled  "  the  Martyr." 
A  reign  thus  inauspiciously  commenced  proved  to 
be  a  constant  struggle  against  the  Danes.  The 
King  acquired  the  name  of  Ethelred  the  Unready; 
for  when  the  Danes  attacked  the  kingdom,  in- 
stead of  being  prepared  to  repel  them,  he  endeav- 
oured to  counteract  the  evil  with  large  sums  of 

[208] 


GLOUCESTER 

money.  As  this  only  served  as  a  further  incen- 
tive to  fresh  invasions,  Ethelred  eventually  com- 
pounded with  them  in  994.  On  condition  that 
these  plundering  expeditions  should  cease,  he  of- 
fered them  tribute.  This  is  the  first  mention  we 
get  of  the  "danegelt,"  as  it  was  called.  With  the 
exception  of  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Confessor, 
it  continued  to  be  levied  almost  without  interrup- 
tion till  the  time  of  Henry  II.  The  only  benefit 
that  Ethelred's  reign  conferred  upon  his  subjects 
was  the  act  of  atonement  made  by  Elfrida. 

To  ease  her  conscience  and  remorse  for  the 
murder  of  Edward,  she  caused  the  foundation  of 
several  monasteries,  and  performed  penances. 
Edmund  Ironsides,  who  succeeded  in  1016,  was 
the  exact  opposite  in  character  to  his  father 
Ethelred. 

He  continued  a  serious  obstacle  to  Canute  and 
his  Danes.  After  the  last  of  five  pitched  battles 
Canute  and  he  agreed  to  divide  the  kingdom  be- 
tween them  :  Canute  to  have  Mercia  and  North- 
umberland, and  Edmund  the  remainder.  However, 
through  the  murder  of  Edmund  a  few  days  after, 
at  Oxford,  Canute  usurped  the  throne  of  England 
in  1 01 7.  During  his  reign  of  eighteen  years, 
except  for  a  dispute  with  Scotland  over  Cumber- 
land, the  country  enjoyed  peace  at  home. 

'4  [  209  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

This  peaceful  term,  in  conjunction  with  the 
passing  over  of  the  dreaded  millennium,  when  the 
end  of  the  world  had  been  expected,  caused 
the  great  building  activity  which,  under  the  Nor- 
man Conquest,  attained  such  wonderful  results. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  trade  resources  of  Glou- 
cester, even  before  the  Conquest,  had  greatly 
advanced,  and  had  probably  outdistanced  in  ratio 
those  of  more  important  commercial  centres  of 
England.  No  doubt  the  natives  had  learned  many 
hitherto  unknown  industrial  arts  from  the  Romans. 

A  native  art  and  civilisation  existed  in  the  Island, 
we  know,  before  the  Roman  Conquest.  Great 
skill  in  enamelling,  claimed  by  the  ancients  to  be 
of  Celtic  origin,  and  the  primitive  abundance  of 
gold  and  tin,  worked,  as  history  relates,  by  the 
Phoenicians,  encouraged  a  certain  degree  of  native 
excellence  in  metal  work.  Besides  this,  the  gold 
coinage  and  other  signs  of  their  ingenuity,  by 
remains  discovered  in  Yorkshire  and  elsewhere, 
illustrate  that  various  branches  of  art  existed  a 
matter  of  a  century  and  a  half  before  the  Roman 
Conquest.  Yet  it  is  only  reasonable  to  suspect 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Gloucester  and  of  the  other 
camps  profited  greatly  from  the  far  better  know- 
ledge and  technique  brought  by  the  invader  from 
Rome,  the  acknowledged  centre  of  civilisation  at 

[  210  ] 


GLOUCESTER 

THE    CATHEDRAL    AND    OLD    PARLIAMENT    HOUSE 


J 


GLOUCESTER 

that  time.  Certain  it  is  that  the  Roman  influence 
must  have  left  some  result.  The  subsequent 
history  of  Gloucester  has  it  that  a  mint  existed  at 
the  time  of  Alfred.  It  evidently  fell  into  disuse, 
for  a  mint  was  again  established  in  the  reign  of 
King  John.  He  also  granted  the  burgesses  ex- 
emption from  toll,  and  showered  other  marks 
of  royal  favour.  As  far  back  as  the  twelfth 
century.  Long  Smith  Street  derived  its  name  from 
the  numerous  artisans  who  dwelled  there. 

They  were  employed  in  forges  for  the  smelting 
of  ore.  Iron-founding  and  cloth-making  were  also 
in  full  swing.  Felt-making,  sugar-refining,  and 
glass-manufacture  all  flourished  at  one  time  or 
another.  Pin-making  was  introduced  by  a  Mr. 
John  Tilsby  in  1625,  and  until  quite  recently 
formed  the  staple  trade  of  the  place.  Bell- 
founding,  once  a  feature,  no  longer  is  practised. 
In  its  career  of  nearly  two  centuries  close  upon 
5,000  bells  of  different  sizes  had  been  cast.  With 
the  exception  of  foundries,  many  modern  industries 
have  supplanted  the  old,  and  include  match  works, 
marble  and  slate  works,  saw  mills  and  flour  mills, 
chemical  works,  rope  works,  railway  wagon  and 
engine  factories,  agricultural  implements,  and  ship- 
building yards;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Gloucester  is  reckoned  as  a  port.       It  exports  such 

[213] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

valuable  commodities  as  iron,  coals,  malt,  salt, 
bricks,  and  pottery.  The  town  is  also  celebrated 
for  its  Severn  salmon  and  lampreys. 

In  discussing  the  resources  of  Gloucester,  no 
regard  has  been  paid  to  the  proper  distribution  of 
dates.  A  leap  from  the  eleventh  to  the  nineteenth 
century  has  been  unavoidably  made,  and  to  chronicle 
the  chief  events  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
year  1022,  when  a  change  was  made  in  BernulFs 
foundation. 

This  year  saw  the  ejection  of  the  secular  priests 
and  the  introduction  of  the  Benedictine  monks  by 
Canute.  In  spite  of  opposition,  the  new  order 
managed  to  keep  possession  of  the  monastery  till 
the  dissolution.  The  abbey  founded  by  Aldred, 
Bishop  of  Worcester,  a  few  years  before  the 
Norman  Conquest  served  as  the  basis  of  the 
present  cathedral.  This  transition  took  place 
from  1072  till  1 104,  under  Abbot  Serle.  In  1381 
Walter  Frocester,  its  historian,  became  its  first 
mitred  abbot.  Here  again  we  have  an  instance  of 
a  Norman  building  forming  the  backbone  to  subse- 
quent periods  of  Gothic  and  English  architecture. 
Though  each  style  is  distinct,  the  tout  ensetnble  is  in 
such  perfect  harmony  that  it  calls  for  the  greatest 
admiration  for  the  wonderful  skill  of  the  several 
architects.     The  plan  of  the  Cathedral  is  the  usual 

[214] 


GLOUCESTER 

symbol  of  the  cross.  In  the  centre  there  is  the 
beautiful  fifteenth-century  tower.  Its  mass  of 
detail  and  pierced  work  give  it  an  air  of  elegance 
and  lightness.  The  oldest  portions  are  the  nave, 
the  chantry  chapels,  which  are  apsidal  and  are  on 
either  side  of  the  choir,  and  the  crypt.  These  are 
supposed  to  have  belonged  to  Aldred's  abbey, 
which  may  thus  be  taken  to  have  become  incor- 
porated in  the  present  building.  They  are  of 
Norman  origin,  or  rather  date  a  few  years  before 
the  Conquest.  No  doubt  these  parts  came,  more 
or  less,  to  be  touched  up  and  restored  by  the 
Normans.  In  1248,  the  roof  of  the  nave,  an 
Early  English  addition  to  the  massive  Norman 
nave,  was  finished  by  Abbot  Henry  Foliot.  The 
Chapter  House  also  is  Norman.  Compared  with 
those  at  Wells  and  Lincoln,  its  simplicity  is  strik- 
ing. It  differs  also  in  another  respect.  Belonging, 
as  it  did,  to  a  Benedictine  church,  it  follows  the 
shape  usually  found  in  churches  of  that  order; 
namely,   the  square. 

The  south  aisle  was  commenced  by  Abbot 
Thokey  in  1310,  and  the  south  transept  in  1330. 
About  the  same  time  building  operations  were 
commenced  for  the  north  transept  and  the  choir. 
The  latter  was  finished  in  1457. 

To    the    north    of  the  nave   lie    the   cloisters. 

[215] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

These  form  a  most  wonderful  Early  example  of 
fan-tracery,  constructed  some  time  between  1351 
and  1390.  Here  in  the  south  end  of  the  cloisters 
were  set  apart  a  series  of  stalls,  better  known  as  the 
carrels,  in  which  the  monks  studied  and  wrote. 
They  may  have  undergone  great  hardships  and 
austerities,  but  they  evidently  had  a  great  sense  of 
beauty.  They  have  left  us  the  finest  works  of 
architecture  possible,  which  have  not  been  sur- 
passed by  any  modern  erection. 

The  west  front,  and  the  south  porch  with  fan- 
traceried  roof,  were  added  in  1421. 

The  triforium,  carried  round  in  a  curve  under 
the  great  east  window,  forms  a  narrow  passage- 
way from  one  side  of  the  choir  to  the  other.  This 
formation,  curiously  enough,  has  constituted  quite 
a  feature  at  Gloucester.  It  is  called  the  "whis- 
pering gallery."  There  is  no  evidence  that  the 
architect  intended  it.  St.  Paul's,  in  London, 
affords  another  similar  example. 

The  sculptor's  art  is  represented  by  many  tombs 
of  certain  merit.  There  is  the  tomb  erected  by 
Abbot  Parker  to  the  memory  of  Osric,  King  of 
Northumberland,  who  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  monastery,  and  who  died  about  the  eighth 
century.  In  the  north  aisle  leading  to  the  Lady 
Chapel  —  which  by  the  way,  with  its  square  ending 

[216] 


r  a 
r-'  Q 
'■^     < 


GLOUCESTER 

appears  like  an  after-thought,  extended  eastwards, 
as  it  were,  from  the  apsidal  termination  of  the 
choir — is  a  monument  covering  the  remains  of 
Robert  Duke  of  Normandy,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
Conqueror.  He  was  a  benefactor  to  the  old  abbey. 
His  effigy  in  coloured  bog  oak  is  disposed  in  a 
recumbent  attitude  on  an  altar-tomb.  There  are 
many  others,  amongst  which  that  of  Dr.  Jenner, 
famous  for  the  introduction  of  vaccination  into 
general  practice,  commands  great  attention.  Robert 
Raikes  is  also  represented.  He  and  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Stock,  a  rector  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
in  this  city,  share  the  honour  of  having  established 
the  first  Sunday  school  in  England,  which  was 
held  in  Gloucester.  Some  authorities,  however, 
contend  that  the  reverend  gentleman  was  the 
originator  of  the  Sunday  school,  though  they  do 
not  deny  that  Raikes,  through  his  unwearied 
exertions,  promoted  the  increase  of  these  institu- 
tions throughout  the  kingdom. 

But  of  all  the  monuments,  that  erected  by  the 
monks  of  Gloucester  to  the  memory  of  Edward  of 
Carnarvon  deserves  the  most  attention,  not  only 
for  its  beauty,  but  because  it  served  as  the  type  for 
the  Gothic  sculptors  to  copy  during  two  centuries. 
The  recumbent  effigy  is  hedged  in  by  a  series  of 
elaborately  decorated  shafts,  forming  a  kind  of  open- 

[219] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

work  grille,  with  pinnacles  and  niches.  Over- 
head it  is  covered  in  with  richly  ornamented 
Gothic  work. 

This  shrine,  constructed  to  receive  the  body  of 
the  murdered  Edward  II.,  conveyed  thither  from 
Berkeley  Castle  by  Abbot  Thokey,  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  Edward  III.'s  reign  continued  to 
attract  vast  numbers  of  pilgrims.  Their  offerings 
soon  brought  in  a  great  revenue,  which  was  spent 
not  on  rebuilding  the  church,  but  in  restoring  the 
surface,  in  putting  new  windows  in  the  old  walls, 
and,  generally,  in  adapting  the  twelfth-century 
building  to  the  Perpendicular  style  of  the  four- 
teenth century.  In  this  way  the  original  Norman 
work  forms  the  skeleton  to  the  Perpendicular 
casing. 

In  1 54 1  the  Cathedral  was  separated  from  the 
diocese  of  Worcester  by  Henry  VIII.  and  made 
a  distinct  bishopric. 

Besides  this  magnificent  pile,  Gloucester  pos- 
sesses four  other  churches,  which  deserve  some 
slight  notice.  There  is  the  Church  of  St.  Mary 
de  Lode,  said  to  contain  the  remains  of  Lucius, 
the  first  British  king.  It  has  an  interesting  old 
chancel,  and  a  monument  to  Bishop  Hooper. 

St.  Mary  de  Crypt  is  a  cruciform  building  of 
the  twelfth  century,  with  a  beautiful  lofty  tower. 

[  220   ] 


GLOUCESTER 

The  curfew  bell  is  still  rung  from  the  tower  of 
St.  Michael,  which  is  said  to  have  been  connected 
with  the  ancient  abbey  of  St.  Peter.  St.  Nicholas, 
originally  Norman,  is  now  an  ancient  structure  of 
the  Early  style  of  English  architecture. 

Of  schools,  one  was  refounded  by  Henry  VIII. 
for  the  education  of  the  cathedral  choir.  An- 
other was  established  in  the  same  reign  by  Dame 
Joan  Cooke,  and  was  called  the  Crypt  School, 
from  the  fact  of  its  schoolroom  adjoining  the 
church  of  the  same  name.  Sir  Thomas  Rich,  a 
native  of  Gloucester,  in  1666  founded  the  Blue- 
Coat  Hospital,  much  on  the  same  lines  as  that  of 
Christ's  Hospital,  recently  removed  from  London 
to  the  country. 

During  the  many  years  that  were  taken  in 
beautifying  the  Cathedral,  we  must  not  forget  that 
the  city  was  struggling  with  varying  fortune.  It 
might  almost  be  called  a  royal  city,  so  often  was  it 
visited  by  princes,  were  it  not  that  Winchester  claims 
that  distinction.  In  the  war  between  Stephen  and 
the  Empress  Matilda,  Gloucester  always  accorded 
a  welcome  to  the  Empress.  Thither  she  is  said 
to  have  escaped  after  the  siege  of  Winchester,  car- 
ried in  a  coffin.  If  not  true,  the  story  is  well 
founded.  The  city  was  captured  from  Henry  III. 
by  the  barons  in  1 263.     In  one  of  the  many  Parlia- 

[  221  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ments  held  at  Gloucester,  were  passed,  in  i  279,  the 
laws  connected  with  the  Statute  of  Quo  Warranto, 
better  known  as  the  Statutes  of  Gloucester. 

In  1327  Edward  II.  was  assassinated  in  Berkeley- 
Castle  by  his  keeper.  Sir  Thomas  Gournay,  and 
John  de  Maltravers,  Lord  Berkeley.  From  this 
time  Gloucester  seems  to  have  enjoyed  com- 
parative peace,  though  its  county  was  the  theatre 
of  several  important  historical  events  enacted 
in  its  cities  of  Chichester  and  Tewkesbury.  The 
latter  is  especially  memorable  for  the  great  and 
decisive  battle,  in  which  the  Lancastrians  were 
totally  defeated,  in  1471.  On  that  occasion  Mar- 
garet of  Anjou,  her  son  Prince  Edward,  and  her 
general,  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  were  taken 
prisoners  by  Edward  IV.  After  the  battle  Prince 
Edward  was  murdered  and  the  Duke  of  Somerset 
beheaded.  In  the  great  contest  between  Charles  I. 
and  the  Parliament,  the  city  of  Gloucester,  it  is 
true,  became  an  object  of  importance  to  the 
success  of  the  royal  cause.  The  city  was,  however, 
successfully  defended  for  the  Parliament  by  Colonel 
Massie,  till  relieved  in  1643  by  the  Earl  of  Essex. 
In  the  meantime  Chichester  was  taken  by  Prince 
Rupert. 

The  subject-matter  of  this  city  has  unconsciously 
led  us  to  introduce  Tewkesbury  and  Chichester. 

[  222  ] 


GLOUCESTER 

Having  gone  so  far  we  cannot  close  without  first 
drawing  attention  to  the  existence  of  three  other 
cities  that  prominently  stand  out  in  this  same 
county  of  Gloucestershire.  They  are  Cheltenham, 
the  home  of  the  famous  public  school ;  Tewkes- 
bury, where  the  decisive  battle  of  the  Roses 
was  fought ;  and  Bristol,  the  great  port  situated 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Severn,  the  river  on  the 
banks  of  which  lies  this  ancient  cathedral  city 
of  Gloucester. 


[«3] 


jl|erefor5j 

Hereford. 
(«  Doomsday  Book.") 

ON  the  borders  of  Wales  is  Herefordshire, 
and  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  county  is 
its  ancient  capital,  Hereford.  A  Roman 
station  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, under  the  name  of  Ariconium,  which  is 
considered  to  be  identical  with  the  present  Ken- 
chester.  The  present  name  of  Hereford  is  derived 
from  the  pure  Saxon.  Like  Oxford,  it  had  no 
bridges  at  first.  As  the  river  had  to  be  crossed, 
the  shallowest  part  was  chosen. 

This  consideration  probably  determined  the  site 
of  Hereford  to  be  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  river 
Wye,  and  the  pass  over  it  was  called  by  the 
Saxons,  Here-ford,  or  "  Military  ford."  We  glean 
little  information  of  this  place  till  the  seventh  cen- 
tury. An  episcopal  see  is  stated  to  have  existed 
in  this  place  before  the  invasion  of  Britain  by  the 
Saxons.  From  this  uncertainty  we  arrive  at  some- 
thing   more   definite,  which    took   place   in    655. 

[  224] 


HEREFORD 

Oswy,  then  King  of  Mercia,  in  that  year  made 
Hereford  part  of  the  diocese  of  Lichfield,  which 
already  wielded  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  of  the 
kingdom  of  Mercia. 

A  few  years  later  it  was  decided  by  a  synod  held 
here  under  the  presidency  of  Theodore,  then  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  in  673,  to  make  a  division 
of  the  diocese  of  Lichfield.  Very  naturally  Wil- 
ford,  then  bishop  of  that  see,  refused  to  recognise 
the  decree,  and  for  this  piece  of  contumacy  was 
subsequently  deprived  of  part  of  his  diocese.  His 
successor,  Sexulph,  however,  was  more  amenable, 
and  with  his  consent  Hereford  was  detached  from 
Lichfield  and  restored  to  its  original  independence 
as  a  separate  diocese.  Putta  was  straightway  trans- 
lated from  Rochester  See  to  become  the  first 
bishop  of  Hereford  in  680.  This  instance  is  one 
of  many  such  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The 
shuffling  of  dioceses,  the  enlargement  of  one  at  the 
expense  of  another,  whether  from  motives  of  mal- 
ice or  a  sense  of  right  distribution,  occurs  usually 
in  the  early  years  of  Christianity  in  England,  and 
also  at  the  general  winding  up  of  the  monasteries 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VHL 

Hereford  was  by  no  means  the  only  see  that 
suffered  these  changes.  It  was  simply  a  unit  in 
the  great  policy  of  welding  together  the  churches 
IS  [  225  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

of  the  several  kingdoms  into  one  whole,  which  had 
never  been  carried  into  effect  till  Theodore  of 
Tarsus  came  to  England.  He  was  a  Greek  monk 
little  known  till  the  Pope  elected  to  fill  the  vacant 
archbishopric  of  Canterbury.  Only  three  bishops 
were  left  in  the  whole  of  England;  of  these  two  were 
rivals  for  the  See  of  York,  and  the  third  had  bought 
the  See  of  London.  The  first  thing  that  Theodore 
did  after  his  arrival  was  to  travel  throughout  the 
country.  By  consecrating  new  bishops  and  creating 
a  thorough  organisation,  he  acquired  a  complete 
understanding  with  the  Church.  He  also  insti- 
tuted a  system  of  synods,  which  he  intended  should 
meet  annually  to  discuss  the  general  welfare  of  the 
Church.  This,  however,  seems  to  have  fallen  into 
disuse. 

In  all,  Theodore  managed  to  divide  England  into 
a  matter  of  fifteen  dioceses,  through  the  subdivision 
of  the  old  dioceses.  Truly  a  great  achievement 
when  we  remember  that  the  conversion  of  the 
English  kingdoms  mostly  depended  upon  the  good- 
will of  their  respective  kings.  Thus  it  came  about 
that  one  king  in  each  kingdom  had  one  bishop, 
generally  his  chaplain  at  first,  who  took  his  title, 
not  from  a  see,  but  from  the  people.  He  was 
either  bishop  of  Mercia,  or  Northumbria,  or  some 
other    large   kingdom.      As  we  have  seen   in    the 

[  226  ] 


HEREFORD 

collision  with  Wilford,  Theodore's  policy  did  not 
suit  every  prelate's  views.  His  influence,  however, 
effected  the  installation  of  three  bishops  in  North- 
umbria,  four  in  Mercia,  two  in  East  Anglia,  and 
two  in  Wessex.      Kent  already  had  two  since  604. 

Thus  the  result  was  the  complete  conversion  of 
England,  effected  by  Theodore  from  about  673  to 
688  A.  D. 

Prior  to  the  eighth  century  Hereford  is  known 
to  have  been  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Mercia, 
as  it  is  now  of  Herefordshire,  which  is  much 
reduced  in  size.  From  the  years  765  to  79 1  Mercia 
was  governed  by  King  Offa.  Apart  from  his  con- 
nection with  the  Cathedral  of  Hereford,  his  reign 
must  possess  some  interest  to  the  collectors  of  coins. 
For  though  the  die-sinker's  art  was  practised  in 
England  as  far  back  as  the  Roman  occupation,  and 
an  indigenous  coinage  came  into  existence  in  the 
seventh  century,  it  is  not  till  this  monarch's  reign 
that  genuine  English  coinage  was  properly  in 
currency.  It  appears  that  Offa  had  to  pay  an 
annual  tribute  of  365  mancuses  in  coin  to  the  Pope. 
As  a  mancus  was  equal  to  30  pennies,  the  sum  was 

a  considerable  one. 

In  the  year  782  an  event  occurred  which  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  Cathedral.  From  Marden, 
the  original  place  of  sepulture,  the  body  of  Ethel- 

[227] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

bert.  King  of  the  East  Angles  (who,  by  the  way, 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  Ethelbert  of  Kent, 
who  welcomed  St.  Augustine),  was  removed  to 
Hereford.  He  had  been  treacherously  slain  by  his 
intended  mother-in-law,  the  Queen  of  Mercia.  In 
expiation  of  the  murder  King  Offa,  with  munificent 
donations,  enabled  a  nobleman  called  Milfride,  a 
viceroy  under  Egbert,  to  found  the  Cathedral  about 
825.  The  building  was  dedicated  to  St.  Mary  and 
St.  Ethelbert.  It  fell  into  decay  in  less  than  two 
centuries  and  necessitated  a  rebuilding  during  the 
prelacy  of  Bishop  Athelstan,  between  1012  and 
1015.  It  was  burnt  by  the  Welsh  in  1055,  and 
remained  in  ruins  till  1079,  when  the  first  Norman 
bishop,  Robert  of  Lorraine,  was  appointed  to  the 
See. 

He  commenced  a  new  edifice  on  the  lines  of 
Aken,  now  Aix-la-Chapelle.  It  was  carried  on, 
with  the  exception  of  the  tower  left  to  be  erected 
by  Bishop  Giles  de  Braos  in  the  following  century, 
by  Bishop  Raynelm,  in  1 107,  and  eventually  com- 
pleted in  1 1 48  by  Bishop  R.  de  Betum. 

The  plan  is  the  usual  cross.  A  lofty  tower  rises 
from  the  intersection,  and  was  formerly  surmounted 
by  a  spire,  taken  down  for  safety's  sake.  The 
screen  and  reredos,  the  pillars,  the  arches  of  naves, 
and  the  north  and  south  arches  of  the  choir  belong 

[228] 


HEREFORD 

THE    NORTH     TRANSEPT 


HEREFORD 

to  the  Norman  period.  The  Early  English  claims 
the  triforium,  the  Lady  Chapel,  clerestory,  and  the 
stone  vaulting.  The  north  transept  is  by  Bishop 
Aquablanca,  1 245-1 268,  whilst  the  south-east 
transept  dates  from  the  Late  Decorated  style. 

For  over  450  years  a  number  of  additions  and 
restorations  have  afforded  every  facility  for  the 
skill  of  the  architect,  not  always  happily  taken 
advantage  of.  The  great  western  tower  unfortu- 
nately fell  down  in  1786,  and  caused  considerable 
damage  to  the  west  front  and  adjacent  work.  Mr. 
Wyatt,  during  modern  restorations,  in  1842  and 
1863,  rebuilt  the  tower.  The  west  front,  soon 
after  its  misfortune,  was  restored  in  a  style  different 
from  the  original.  The  whole  exterior  of  this 
edifice  presents  a  curious  variety  of  architectural 
style.  This  capitulation  of  bishops  and  dates  is 
possibly  dry  reading,  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  determine  the  date  of  the  different  erections 
and  restorations,  and  their  successive  styles  of 
architecture. 

Near  the  choir  was  the  shrine  of  St.  Ethelbert, 
which  was  destroyed  during  the  Commonwealth 
of  Cromwell.  Another  attraction  to  the  pilgrims 
was  the  tomb  erected  to  the  memory  of  Bishop 
Cantelupe,  who  died  in  1282.  His  heart  was 
brought    to    Hereford    and    buried    in   the   north 

[  231  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

transept  of  the  Cathedral,  and  he  was  canonised  in 
I  3 1  o.  The  pilgrims  resorted  to  this  place,  as  it 
was  reputed  that  no  less  than  four  hundred  miracles 
had  been  performed  there.  In  consequence  of  this 
the  succeeding  bishops  altered  the  quarterings  of 
their  ancient  arms,  which  were  those  of  St.  Ethel- 
bert,  and  assumed  the  paternal  coat  of  Cantelupe. 
This  change  constitutes  the  present  arms  of  the 
bishopric. 

Amongst  many  other  memorials  is  one  to  Bishop 
Aquablanca.  A  plain  marble  tablet  was  also 
erected  to  the  memory  of  John  Philips,  a  well- 
known  author  of  poems  entitled  "  The  Splendid 
Shilling,'*  and  «  Cyder." 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  item,  as  well  as  the 
most  curious  of  all  the  old  maps,  is  the  "  Mappa 
Mundi,"  preserved  in  the  south  choir  aisle.  It 
was  compiled  somewhere  about  1275  to  1300,  by 
a  monk  of  Lincoln.  How  it  ever  came  to  Here- 
ford appears  to  be  an  enigma.  The  most  likely 
solution  is  that  the  monk  may  have  been  trans- 
ferred from   Lincoln  to  this  see. 

The  "  Hereford  Map,"  as  it  is  called,  is  a  great 
picture,  more  to  be  classed  as  a  grotesque  work  of 
art  than  a  valuable  aid  to  geography.  It  is,  at 
least,  a  gigantic  attempt  to  represent  the  whole 
world,  with  the  introduction  of  the  main  features, 

[  232] 


HEREFORD 

the  people,  industries,  and  products  of  each  country. 
It  is  one  mass  of  legendary  figures,  and  the  farther 
we  get  from  England,  which  is  hardly  recognisable, 
the  more  grotesque  and  improbable  become  the 
monsters.  The  Minotaurs  and  Gog-Magog  of 
Tartary,  the  dog-faced,  the  horse-footed,  and  flap- 
eared  freaks  of  nature  of  the  far  east,  together  with 
the  one-legged,  one-eyed,  four-eyed,  headless,  and 
hermaphrodite  tribes  who  fringe  the  Torrid  Zone, 
give  us  an  interesting  idea  of  the  imposition  by 
travellers  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of  that 
period,  the  thirteenth  century.  Even  the  fishes, 
supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  each  sea,  are  carefully 
depicted.  Truly  it  is  a  wonderful  work  of  imagi- 
nation, not  the  less  to  be  respected  for  that,  and 
quite  alone  deserves  a  journey  to  Hereford. 

An  epitome  of  the  chief  historical  events  of  the 
city  will  be  a  sufficient  guide  to  its  status.  Except 
cider  making,  it  has  no  industries  of  special  note. 

To  the  fortifications  erected  in  the  time  of 
Athelstan,  and  nearly  perfected  in  Leland's  time, 
was  added  a  castle  by  Edward  the  Elder.  In  1055, 
two  miles  from  this  place,  Griffith  the  Prince  of 
Wales  defeated  Ralph  Earl  of  Hereford  ;  and  the 
Welsh,  having  thus  taken  the  city,  spent  their  time 
in  reducing  it  to  a  heap  of  ruins.  Harold,  after- 
wards king,  attacked  and  defeated  the  Welsh,  and 

[  233  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

repaired  and  enlarged  the  fortifications  in  view  of 
further  invasions.  In  the  conflicts  between  Stephen 
and  the  Empress  Maud,  Hereford  was  successfully 
defended  for  the  latter  by  Milo,  to  be  reduced  by 
the  King  in  1 141.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
parliamentary  war,  Hereford  was  garrisoned  for 
the  King,  but  surrendered,  without  a  blow  being 
struck,  to  the  army  of  Sir  William  Waller  in  1643. 
On  the  retreat  of  this  knight  the  Royalists  occu- 
pied it,  and  under  the  governorship  of  Barnabas 
Scudamore,  Esquire,  made  a  stubborn  resistance 
against  the  Scots,  under  the  Earl  of  Leven,  and 
obliged  them  to  raise  the  siege. 

The  inhabitants,  at  the  Restoration,  for  their 
loyalty  to  the  royal  cause,  received  from  Charles  II. 
a  new  charter  with  extended  privileges,  and  new 
heraldic  arms  testifying  to  their  fidelity  to  the 
House  of  Stuart.  Previous  to  this  Charles  I. 
had  been  generous  enough  to  reward  the  many 
sacrifices  and  sufferings  of  the  loyal  citizens  by 
granting  the  city  its  motto  of 

Jjivictae  fidelitatis  praemium. 


[234] 


Etncoitt 

Lincolia. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

(HE    commercial    importance   of    Lincoln, 
whatever  it  may  be  now,  was  at  one  time 
considerable.     At  the  time  of  the  Norman 
survey  it  commanded  sufficient  attention  to  cause 
the  entry  of  the  city  in  the  "Doomsday   Book" 
as  one  of  the  leading  centres  of  commerce.     This 
happy  state  was  continued,  or  rather  increased,  by 
the  famous  Ordinance  of  the  Staple  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.      He  was  an  ambitious  monarch,  and 
desired  to  become  master  of  France.      If  we  recall 
the  battles  of  Cressy  and  Poitiers,  we  can   readily 
understand  what  an  enormous  expenditure  would 
be  required  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  war. 
By  some  means  or  other  the  English  revenues  had 
to  be  found.     This  was  met  to  a  great  extent  by 
the   Ordinance    of   the  Wool   Staple,    enacted  by 
Edward  III.,  who,  besides  waging  war  in  France, 
was  keen  on  the  extension  of  foreign  trade.      By 
charters   granted  to  merchants   of  Gascony,  who 

[235] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

imported  wine  and  other  commodities,  and  by 
giving  special  protection  to  the  Flemish  weavers  in 
England,  the  King  enhanced  the  prospects  of  trade. 
But  the  most  important  of  all  his  commercial 
projects  was,  as  we  have  said,  his  scheme,  finally 
declared  in  1353,  by  which  a  staple  for  English 
exports  was  established  under  the  direct  control  of 
the  Crown.  Thus  the  monopoly  of  wool,  which 
accrued  so  advantageously  to  Bruges  and  other 
cities  on  the  Continent,  and  had  become  unbear- 
able, was  in  1353  transferred  to  England.  For  the 
exclusive  sale  of  wool  ten  English  towns  were 
chosen.  They  were  situated  within  easy  distance 
of  the  coast,  or  the  town  was  in  connection  with  a 
convenient  port.  Of  these  ten  towns  with  corre- 
sponding ports,  Lincoln  with  Boston  was  chosen  as 
a  staple  town  for  wool.  This  with  other  sources 
of  trade,  such  as  the  staple  of  lead  and  leather, 
flourished  in  Lincoln  from  Edward  III.'s  time  till 
the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  trade  of  the  town  declined.  Through 
the  several  plagues  prevalent  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  such  as  the  black  death  and  other  epi- 
demics similar  in  death-dealing  if  not  in  charac- 
ter at  that  time,  especially  about  the  year  1 390, 
many  towns  in  England  were  much  decayed. 
Except  London,  York,  Bristol,  Coventry,  and  Ply- 

[236] 


LINCOLN 

mouth,  the  afflicted  towns  did  not  regain  the 
population  they  enjoyed  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury till  the  Tudor  period,  and  some,  notably 
Sarum  and  Leicester,  not  until  late  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth.  The  decline  of  Lincoln,  though  pro- 
gressive, in  a  way  appears  to  have  been  truly  a 
gradual  decay,  and  more  terrible  in  its  impercep- 
tible undermining  than  any  knock-down  blow,  for 
it  never  recovered  its  old  trade  prosperity  ;  whilst 
Norwich,  which  before  the  plagues  was  next  to 
London,  bore  relatively  and  even  greater  and 
sharper  evidence  of  the  terrible  visitation,  yet 
managed  somehow  to  hark  back  in  a  measure  to 
days  of  its  former  glory.  The  old  saying  which 
ran  "  Lincoln  was,  London  is,  York  shall  be " 
indicates,  far  more  than  anything  else,  the  change 
of  Lincoln's  fortunes.  Whatever  its  shortcomings 
may  be,  Lincoln  possesses  a  most  interesting 
record  of  antiquity.  Its  minster  is  truly  a  gem, 
for  it  is  not  only  the  earliest  example  of  a  pure 
Gothic  building  in  Europe,  but  presents  a  delight- 
ful study  of  every  kind  of  style,  from  the  early 
Norman  down  to  the   Late  Decorated. 

Of  the  many  characteristics  of  this  interesting 
edifice  —  the  foundation  of  Remigius  —  we  will 
note  the  chief.  The  building  material  consists 
of  the    oolite    and    calcareous    stone    of  Lincoln 

[237] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Heath  and  Haydor,  the  surface  of  which,  when 
worked  upon  with  tools,  appears  to  become 
quite  hardened. 

Remigius  adopted  the  plan  of  the  church  at 
Rouen  as  the  model  of  his  foundation,  which  he 
laid  in  1086.  It  was  completed  by  his  successor, 
Bishop  Bloet.  The  accidental  fire  that  broke  out 
gave  his  successor.  Bishop  Alexander,  the  oppor- 
tunity of  repairing  it.  To  prevent  a  like  occur- 
rence, this  prelate  conceived  and  carried  out  his 
idea  of  covering  the  aisles  with  a  vaulted  roof 
of  stone.  It  had  a  disastrous  effect  in  that  its 
pressure  weighed  too  heavily  upon  the  walls.  It 
necessitated  a  thorough  overhauling  by  St.  Hugh, 
a  subsequent  bishop,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II. 
He  rebuilt  the  church  upon  a  plan  then  newly 
introduced,  and  greatly  enlarged  it  by  taking  down 
the  east  end  and  re-erecting  it  upon  a  far  bigger 
scale.  Since  his  time  the  Cathedral  has  undergone 
several  alterations  and  embellishments  at  the  foster- 
ing care  of  several  succeeding  prelates.  On  the 
magnificent  central  tower  there  used  to  be  a  lofty 
spire,  which  was  blown  down  in  1 547.  The  two 
western  towers  were  also  deprived  of  their  spires 
in  1808  to  avert  a  similar  calamity.  The  approx- 
imate dates  of  the  different  portions  of  the  Cathe- 
dral are : 

[238] 


o    t 


LINCOLN 

The  central  west  front  and  the  font  belong  to 
Remigius'  period. 

The  three  west  portals  and  Norman  portion  of 
the  west  tower  above  the  screen  to  the  third  story 
are  1 148. 

The  nave,  its  aisles,  and  north  and  south  chapels 
of  the  west  end  were  finished  in  1220. 

The  Early  English  work  of  the  west  front  and 
the  upper  portions  of  the  north  and  south  wings 
with   the  pinnacle  turrets  date  from  1225, 

The  west  porch  of  the  main  transept  is  1220. 

The  lower  courses  of  the  central  tower  date 
from  1235,  while  the  upper  ones  originated  in  i  307. 

The  gables,  the  upper  parts  of  the  main 
transept,  the  parapets  of  the  south  side  of  the  nave, 
the  south  wing,  the  west  front,  and  the  screen  in 
the  south  aisle  take  us  back  again  to  the  year 
1225.      The  subsequent  additions  are: 

The  west  door  of  the  choir  aisles  in  1 240 ;  the 
south  porch  of  the  presbytery  in  1256  ;  the  choir 
screens  in  1280,  and  ten  years  later  the  Easter 
Sepulchre.  The  fine  circular  window  at  the  end 
of  the  north  transept,  and  especially  the  ones  in 
the  south  transept,  attract  considerable  attention. 
They  are  called  respectively  "  The  Dean's  Eye  " 
and  "  The  Bishop's  Eye,"  and  are  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  year  1350.  Perhaps  they  are  better 
16  [  241  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

known  as  the  rose  windows,  which  were  more 
popular  in  France  than  in  England.  They  exhibit 
a  network  of  interlacing  stems  in  imitation  of  the 
freedom  of  the  briar-rose,  and  show  the  advanced 
skill  of  the  workmen  upon  the  plate-tracery  they 
formerly  put  up  as  a  masterpiece  in  the  close 
vicinity  of  the  rose  windows. 

For  purposes  of  fortification,  if  necessary, 
Remigius  chose  the  summit  of  the  hill  close  to 
the  Castle  as  the  site.  The  Cathedral,  dedicated  to 
the  Virgin  Mary,  thus,  from  its  commanding 
station,  forms  a  magnificent  object  seen  from  many 
miles  around,  and  in  the  days  of  pilgrimage  must 
have  held  out  a  welcome  beacon  of  hope  to  the 
weary  pilgrims. 

Of  the  many  famous  prelates  of  this  see  must 
be  mentioned  Remigius,  Bloet,  St.  Hugh,  and 
Fleming,  who  died  in  1431.  The  latter  was  the 
founder  of  Lincoln  College  at  Oxford.  Just  at  the 
back  of  this  college  is  situated  the  well-known 
college  of  Brazennose,  the  foundation  of  another 
Lincoln  Bishop,  namely  Smith,  who  died  in  1521. 

Again,  Polydore  Vergil,  W.  Paley,  Cartwright 
the  inventor  of  the  power  loom,  and  O.  Manning 
the  celebrated  topographer  are  some  of  the  many 
capitular  members  of  whom  Lincoln  may  well  be 
proud. 

[  242  ] 


LINCOLN 

Another  attraction  that  Lincoln  possesses  in  its 
vicinity  is  the  race-course  just  beyond  Newland. 

For  the  early  history  of  Lincoln  we  must 
go  as  far  back  as  the  Saxon  days.  After  the 
departure  of  the  Romans,  Lincoln  was  the  chief 
city  of  the  district.  It  was  the  capital  of  the 
kingdom  of  Mercia,  as  it  now  is  of  the  county  of 
Lincolnshire. 

Besides  being  described  like  other  cities  as 
being  locally  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  it  is  said  to 
be  in  the  wapentake.  This  is  a  departure  from 
the  "  hundred  "  only  in  name,  not  in  purpose.  In 
the  northern  counties  of  England  the  wapentakes 
denoted  the  usual  divisions  answering  to  the 
hundreds  of  other  counties.  The  origin  of  the 
wapentake  is  woepenge-toc,  woepentac,  from 
the  Icelandic  vapnatak.  It  literally  means  a 
weapon-taking  or  weapon-touching,  and  became 
an  expression  of  assent.  It  was  anciently  invari- 
ably the  custom  to  touch  lances  or  spears  when 
the  hundreder,  or  chief,  entered  in  his  office. 
Tacitus,  in  the  "  Germania,"  gives  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  this  interesting  rite. 

In  the  Low  Countries  words  very  similar  appear 
as  the  names  of  streets.  At  Bruges,  in  Belgium, 
there  is  the  "  Wapen-makers  Straat,"  which  means 
nothing  more  or  less  than  that  in  that  street  was 

[  243] 


CATHEDRAL   CITIES 

originally  carried  on  an  industry  of  warlike  im- 
plements made  by  "  weapon-makers." 

In  this  wise  Lincolnshire,  Yorkshire,  and 
Nottinghamshire  were  divided  into  wapentakes 
instead  of  "  hundreds." 

Another  peculiar  distinction  of  this  city  was  its 
former  government  by  a  portreve.  The  term  is 
now  obsolete,  but  in  the  old  English  law  it 
denoted  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  port  or  maritime 
town.  In  its  old  form  it  was  written  "  portgerefa," 
a  combined  word  meaning  port,  a  harbour,  and 
"  gerefa,"  a  reeve  or  sheriff.  In  the  third  year  of 
the  reign  of  George  I.  the  city,  with  a  district  of 
twenty  miles  round  it,  was  erected  into  a  county, 
under  the  designation  of  *'  The  City  and  County 
of  the  City  of  Lincoln."  It  was  also  entered  as  a 
maritime  county.  The  extreme  flatness  of  the 
Lincolnshire  coast,  with  the  slow  sluggishness  of 
the  lower  part  of  the  course  of  the  rivers,  caused, 
in  remote  ages,  the  inundation  of  a  great  tract  of 
land.  The  feasibility  of  reclaiming  some  portion 
of  these  fens  received  the  attention  of  the  Romans. 
They  constructed  the  large  drain  called  the  car- 
dyke,  signifying  the  fen-dyke,  carrying  it  from 
the  river  Witham,  near  Lincoln,  to  the  river 
Welland  on  the  southern  side  of  the  county,  with 
the  object  of  draining  the  waters  from  the  high 

[  244  ] 


LINCOLN 

THE    STEEP    HILL 


LINCOLN 

grounds  and  of  preventing  the  inundation  of  the 
low  grounds.  This  poUcy  was  adopted  in  subse- 
quent reigns  with  great  success,  and  is  even  to  this 
day  continued.  It  has  been  the  means  of  bringing 
rich  tracts  of  land  into  cultivation,  and  of  dis- 
pelling the  unhealthy  miasma  which  once  caused 
the  great  prevalency  of  the  ague  fever.  From 
fragments  of  vessels  found  near  its  channel  it  is 
affirmed  that  large  ships  of  bygone  days  could 
formerly  sail  up  the  river  Witham  from  Boston 
to  Lincoln,  but  now  it  is  only  navigable  for 
barges. 

In  1 121  Henry  I.  materially  altered  the  great 
Foss-Dyke,  extending  a  matter  of  eight  miles  from 
a  great  marsh  near  Lincoln  to  the  river  Trent,  to 
serve  the  double  purpose  of  draining  the  adjacent 
level  and  of  constructing  a  high  waterway  for 
vessels  from  the  Trent  to  Lincoln. 

For  defraying  the  expenses  of  draining,  it  appears 
that  in  general  a  rate  was  levied  upon  all  lands  in 
the  contiguous  wapentakes. 

With  this  preface  of  the  general  character  of 
the  district,  we  propose  to  give  a  history  of  the 
city  from  its  commencement. 

On  the  summit  of  a  hill  close  to  the  river 
Lindis,  which  is  now  called  the  Witham,  the 
ancient   Britons  established  a  city  of  considerable 

[  247  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

importance  from  the  most  remote  period  of  the 
British  history.  They  christened  the  city  after 
the  original  name  of  the  river.  This,  on  the 
invasion  of  Britain,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Romans.  They  made  it  one  of  their  chief  stations 
in  this  part  of  England  and  established  a  colony. 
Instead  of  calling  the  city  something  "  cester," 
they  appear  to  have  Latinised  the  Celtic  name, 
signifying  "  the  hill  port  by  the  pool,"  and  called 
it  Lindum  Colonia.  Through  process  of  time  and 
differences  of  pronunciation,  consequent  on  the 
various  dialects  spoken  successively  by  the  Saxons, 
Danes,  and  Normans,  the  title  became  abbreviated 
to  Lin-coln.  The  date  of  the  Roman  occupation 
is  given  as  being  in  the  year  lOO  a.  d. 

Their  plan  of  the  city  consisted  of  the  form  of 
a  parallelogram  about  400  yards  in  length  by  the 
same  number  of  yards  in  breadth,  defended  by 
massive,  strong  walls  and  intersected  by  two  streets 
running  at  right  angles. 

Presumably  the  extremities  of  these  streets  pointed 
to  the  four  cardinal  points.  They  terminated  in 
gates,  the  sole  one  of  which — an  excellent  example 
of  Roman  architecture  in  England  —  is  the  North 
Gate,  or,  as  it  is  generally  called,  Newport.  It  is 
composed  of  a  central  arch,  with  two  lesser  ones, 
one  on  either  side,  and  is  on  a  lower  level  than  that 

[248] 


LINCOLN 

of  the  street.  Through  this  gate  passes  the  great 
Roman  Road  called  Ermine  Street,  out  into  the 
country  for  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles  or  so. 
To  the  south-west  of  this  entrance  is  supposed  to 
have  been  a  mint.  This  seems  to  be  borne  out  by 
the  discovery  of  many  Roman  coins  found  in  the 
vicinity.  The  Exchequer  Gate  is  a  very  fine 
specimen  of  the  thirteenth  century.  It  bears  a 
carved  representation  of  the  Crucifixion,  which 
lends  it   considerable  interest. 

At  the  top  of  High  Street  is  Pottergate  and 
Stonebow,  over  which  is  the  Guildhall.  The 
latter  is  an  ancient  embattled  structure,  rebuilt  in 
the  reign  of  Richard  II. 

Besides  the  Northgate,  the  Romans  appear, 
according  to  remains  found,  to  have  contributed  the 
inevitable  bath  and  sudatorium.  On  their  depart- 
ure from  Britain,  Lincoln  was  made  the  capital  of 
the  kingdom  of  Mercia  by  the  Saxons  in  518. 
Vortimer,  who  endeavoured  to  oppose  them,  was 
slain  and  interred  here.  From  786  Lincoln  sufi^ered 
repeatedly  from  visitations  of  the  Danes,  control 
being  recovered  by  Edmund  II.,  according  to 
agreement  with  Canute  in  10 16.  Throughout  the 
whole  of  this  period  the  only  peace  the  city  had 
enjoyed  was  when  Alfred  the  Great  subdued  the 
Danes.     However,  Edmund  II.,  better  known  as 

[249] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Edmund  Ironsides,  did  not  live  many  days  longer, 
being  murdered  at  Oxford.  Whereupon,  in  1017, 
Canute  took  possession  of  the  murdered  monarch's 
territory,  in  which  Lincoln  was  included.  Wil- 
liam I.  then  came  along  in  1086,  swept  away  close 
upon  two  hundred  houses  to  make  room  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  castle — on  a  site  which  meant  the  occu- 
pation of  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  old  Roman  city. 

The  Castle  still  has  traces  of  Norman  work,  the 
foundations  of  which  were  formed  of  enormous 
beams  of  wood  and  a  mixture  of  thin,  coarse  mortar, 
used  for  pouring  into  the  joints  of  masonry  and 
brickwork,  usually  called  "  grouting." 

In  that  wonderful  survey  of  his  —  the  "Dooms- 
day Book" — fifty-two  parishes  are  stated  to  have 
composed  this  city. 

The  Castle  in  1140  figured  in  the  disputes 
between  the  Empress  Matilda  and  Stephen,  the 
latter  of  whom  was  crowned  here  in  1141. 
Stephen  was,  however,  made  prisoner,  but  was 
afterwards  exchanged,  and  lived  three  years  later 
to  celebrate  Christmas  here.  But  prior  to  this 
period  Lincoln  was  for  the  first  time  erected  into 
a  see  in  the  reign  of  William  Rufus. 

In  pursuance  of  a  decree  of  a  synod  held  at 
London  at  this  time,  that  all  the  episcopal  sees 
should  be  removed  to  fortified  places,   Remigius, 

[  250] 


LINCOLN 


THE    WEST    TOWERS 


LINCOLN 

the  Bishop  of  Dorchester,  determined  to  establish 
the  seat  of  his  diocese  at  Lincoln.  He  built  the 
church  and  an  episcopal  palace,  but  died  just  before 
its  consecration. 

His  work  was  completed  by  his  successor^ 
Robert  Bloet.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  the 
Diocese,  which  once  extended  from  the  Thames 
to  the  Humber,  was  curtailed  to  add  a  part  to 
form  that  of  Ely.  It  again  suffered  diminution 
in  Henry  VIII. 's  time,  when  the  limits  of  the 
Sees  of  Oxford  and  Peterborough  were  defined. 
In  spite  of  it  all,  Lincoln's  see  is  fairly  extensive, 
though  it  suffered  again  in  1884.  Prior  to  this 
monarch's  reign  Lincoln  had  as  many  as  fifty-two 
churches,  but  when  he  decided  upon  reforma- 
tion from  Popery  their  number  was  greatly  dimin- 
ished. Their  names,  still  preserved,  are  the  sole 
reminders  of  their  former  existence,  with  the 
exception  of  fourteen  which  remain.  These  have 
probably  been   rebuilt. 

Before  entering  further  concerning  the  See,  and 
the  Cathedral  founded  by  Remigius,  which  was 
constantly  in  the  hands  of  the  architect  even  down 
to  recent  years,  we  shall  add  the  chief  political 
events  subsequent  to  Stephen.  On  the  death  of 
this  monarch,  Henry  II.,  probably  not  satisfied 
with   his    coronation   in   London,  underwent  the 

[  253] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ceremony  again  at  Wigford,  a  place  just  a  little  to 
the  south  of  Lincoln  city. 

John  here  early  in  his  reign  received  the  homage 
of  David  the  King  of  Scotland.  During  the  struggle 
with  the  barons  in  1 2 1 6  the  citizens  remained 
loyal  to  their  sovereign  ;  but  their  city  was  taken 
at  last  in  i  2 1 7,  and  invested  by  the  barons  under 
Gilbert  de  Gaunt,  afterwards  created  Earl  of 
Lincoln.  After  the  disaster  that  overtook  John's 
army  in  the  passage  across  the  Wash,  and  his  death, 
which  took  place  soon  afterwards,  his  son  Henry 
III.  was  loyally  assisted  by  the  inhabitants  against 
the  barons,  who  had  summoned  to  their  aid  Louis, 
the  Dauphin  of  France.  The  Castle,  however, 
remained  for  many  years  in  the  possession  of  the 
Crown.  Eventually  it  became  the  summer  resi- 
dence of  the  celebrated  John  of  Gaunt.  He  was 
Earl  of  Lincoln,  and  in  1396  married  here  Lady 
Swinford,  who  was  a  sister-in-law  to  Chaucer. 

Several  times  Parliament  was  held  in  Lincoln  ; 
namely,  twice  by  Edward  I.,  and  in  i  30 1  and  i  305  ; 
twice  also  by  Edward  II.  ;  and  in  the  first  year  of 
Edward  III.'s  reign. 

Henry  VI.  paid  a  visit,  as  did  also  Henry  VII., 
who  held  a  public  thanksgiving  for  his  victory 
over  Richard  III.  at  the  battle  of  Bosworth  Field. 

Throughout  the  parliamentary  war  the  inhabit- 

[254] 


LINCOLN 

ants  were  staunch  supporters  of  the  Crown.  The 
city  was  stormed  by  Earl  Manchester,  an  indefati- 
gable soldier  of  Cromwell.  The  Commonwealth 
troopers  during  their  occupation  created  consider- 
able havoc  in  the  ecclesiastical  buildings.  Accord- 
ing to  their  invariable  custom  they  stabled  their 
horses  and  housed  themselves  within  the  cathedral 
walls.  Not  satisfied  with  that,  they  damaged  the 
tombs  and  deprived  the  niches  of  their  statuary. 

To  go  back  a  matter  of  four  hundred  years 
to  this  period,  the  population  of  Lincoln  rose 
en  masse  against  the  Jews.  They  were  alleged 
to  have  crucified  a  little  Lincoln  boy,  presum- 
ably a  Christian,  at  a  place  called  Dunestall  in 
the  year  1255.  The  enraged  mob  wreaked  their 
vengeance  by  causing  the  execution  of  eighteen 
Jews,  murdering  many  more,  and  later  on  making 
a  saint  of  the  victim,  under  the  name  of  "  little 
Saint  Hugh."  The  punishment  seems  to  be  out 
of  proportion  to  the  crime.  In  fact  little 
Hugh's  crucifixion  appears  rather  to  have  served 
as  an  excuse  for  the  wrongful  persecution  of 
the  Semitic  race  than  for  the  proper  admin- 
istration of  the  law  irrespective  of  creed.  Even 
to  this  day  this  regrettable  racial  feeling  is 
kept  alive.  In  the  middle  ages  this  bitter  feel- 
ing was  fostered  and  brought  about  chiefly  owing 

[255] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

to  the  wonderful  success  of  the  Jews  in  England, 
who  grew  rich  upon  the  profits  accruing  to  usury, 
which  they  alone  might  exercise.  Among  many 
prominent  instances  of  popular  vengeance,  besides 
little  St.  Hugh's  murder,  are  the  tombs  of  boy- 
martyrs,  shrines  which  became  often  the  most 
popular  in  the  Cathedral. 

The  most  characteristic  are  the  records  of  the 
burials,  attended  with  great  pomp,  of  St.  William  of 
Norwich  in  1144,  Harold  of  Gloucester  in  1168, 
Robert  of  Edmundsbury  in  1 1 84,  a  nameless  boy  in 
London  in  i  244,  and  St.  Hugh  of  Lincoln  in  1255; 
boys  canonised  by  the  populace  simply  through 
bitter  racial  feeling.  Remains  of  the  shrine  of 
little  St.   Hugh  are  still  extant  at  Lincoln. 

Among  the  many  interesting  antiquities  of 
Lincoln  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Norman  domestic 
architecture.  It  is  called  the  Jews'  House,  and  it 
is  an  edifice  of  curious  design.  Its  mouldings 
much  resemble  those  of  the  west  portals  of  the 
Cathedral,  a  date  which  probably  would  be  i  184. 
The  house  belonged  to  a  Jewess  called  Belaset  de 
Wallingford.  She  was  hanged  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.  for  clipping  the  coin. 

Besides  this  are  noticeable  the  ancient  conduits 
of  St.  Mary  le  Wigford,  which  is  Gothic,  and  the 
Greyfriars  Conduit  in  High  Street. 

[256] 


LINCOLN 

In  the  cloister  garden  are  preserved  a  tesselated 
pavement  and  the  sepulchral  slab  of  a  Roman 
soldier.  From  the  same  place  the  splendidly 
carved  stone  coffin  lid  of  Bishop  Remigius  has 
recently  been  removed  into  the  interior  of  the 
Cathedral. 

In  the  years  1884  to  1891  excavations  were 
conducted  on  the  site  of  the  old  "  Angel  Inn,'* 
when  it  was  discovered  that  it  had  been  a  Roman 
burial-place.  Amongst  the  debris  were  found 
several  funeral  urns.  Under  St.  Peter's  at  Gowts 
was  brought  to  light  a  Roman  altar,  and  remains 
of  a  Roman  villa  were  unearthed  at  Greetwell. 
In  the  same  year,  that  is  to  say  1884,  the  Blue 
Coat  School  was  closed,  its  endowments  were  given 
to  the  Middle  School,  and  the  buildings  were  sold 
to  the  Church  Institute. 

Within  the  last  few  years  two  memorable  events 
occurred.  In  the  year  1884  the  See  of  Lincoln 
was  deprived  of  the  county  of  Nottingham,  which 
was  transferred  from  that  see  to  the  See  of  South- 
well. This  was  followed  shortly  afterwards  by  the 
great  lawsuit  called  "  The  Lincoln  Judgment." 

Great  controversy  arose  and  came  to  a  climax. 
In  the  year  1888  Dr.  King,  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
was  cited  before  his  metropolitan.  Dr.  Benson,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  answer  charges   of 

17  [  257  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

various  ritual  offences  alleged  to  have  been  com- 
mitted by  himself  at  the  administration  of  the 
Holy  Communion. 

The  action  was  brought  by  certain  gentlemen 
of  Lincoln  interested  in  the  doings  of  their  prelate. 
Their  religious  scruples  had  been  outraged,  it 
appears,  on  two  separate  occasions ;  namely,  in  the 
Church  of  St.   Peter's  at  Gowts  on   December  4, 

1887,  and  in  the  Cathedral  on  December  10  of  the 
same  year.  An  appeal  had  been  made  to  the 
Archbishop  to  restrain  these  illegal  practices. 
The  celebrated  ecclesiastical  lawsuit  was  heard  in 

1888.  The  judgment  was  confined  to  the  declara- 
tions of  the  law,  which  were  summarised.  No 
monition  or  sentence  was  pronounced  against  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  for  having  committed  breaches 
of  the  ecclesiastical  law.  The  dissension  has 
happily  ended.  The  Bishop  of  Lincoln  has  con- 
formed his  practice  to  the  Archbishop's  judgment 
from  the  date  of  its  delivery,  and  still  retains  his 
bishopric.  Thus  has  ended  the  conflict  between 
the  Primate  and  the  Suffragan,  which  agitated,  for 
a  brief  space  of  time,  the  opponents  of  offences  of 
ritualism,  and  brought  about  the  famous  Lincoln 
Judgment. 


[258] 


iSatI) 


/ 

Baden-ceaster. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

ON  the  banks  of  the  river  Avon,  in  the 
County  of  Somersetshire,  is  situated  the 
beautiful  and  ancient  city  of  Bath.  Its 
ecclesiastical  history  is  closely  bound  up  with  that 
of  Wells,  and  at  one  time  with  that  of  Glaston- 
bury, when  it  figures  in  the  disputes  concerning 
the  See.  This  unseemly  quarrelling  amongst  pre- 
lates is  now  happily  laid  at  rest.  Though  lacking 
in  all  authority,  Bath  is  the  joint  partner  of  Wells 
in  the  bishopric  title. 

The  origin  of  the  city  of  Bath  takes  us  far  back. 
Perhaps  the  strongest  link  with  the  Roman  days, 
besides  the  Roman  roads,  lies  in  the  present-day 
existence  of  the  Roman  baths,  built  about  ^^  B.C. 

These  baths  were  probably  erected  to  confine 
the  hot  springs,  and  to  enjoy  more  thoroughly  the 
benefit  derived  from  the  medicinal  properties  of 
these  waters,  which  are  chalybeate  and  saline. 

[259] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Though  we  are  told  that  in  all  probability  it  is 
a  mere  myth  that  the  British  king,  Bladud,  first 
founded  this  city  of  Bath,  yet  we  are  inclined  to 
think  that  the  presence  of  these  springs  would 
influence  a  settlement  of  even  the  nomadic  British, 
prior  to  the  Roman  invasion. 

When  we  remember  what  primitive  ideas  the 
early  Britons  had,  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  non- 
existence of  any  vestiges  of  their  occupation.  In 
these  days  of  materialism  one  loves  to  respect  old 
traditions,  however  uncertain  they  may  be  in  sub- 
stance. We  would  therefore  give  the  benefit  of 
the  doubt  to  an   early   British  settlement. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  Romans  the  approxi- 
mate date  and  origin  of  Bath  can  be  readily  ascer- 
tained. From  excavations  on  the  place  since  the 
year  1875,  it  has  been  proved  that  the  Romans 
founded  here  a  city,  which  they  named  Aquae 
Solis,  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  In  55  B.C.  the 
baths  had  been  constructed  for  certain.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  they  erected  a  temple  to  Minerva, 
with  votive  offerings,  and  many  other  buildings, 
and  carried  a  line  of  fortifications  and  walls  around 
the  city.  The  remains  of  their  marvellous  archi- 
tecture still  bear  testimony,  though  they  have 
suffered  ill-treatment  and  undergone  restoration, 
to  their  former  magnificence  and  grandeur. 

[  260  ] 


BATH 

On  the  retirement  of  the  Romans  Aquae  Solis 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Britons,  under  the 
name  of  Coer  Palladen  (the  city  of  the  waters  of 
Pallas) o  During  their  possession  of  a  century,  two 
attacks  made  by  the  Saxon  chieftains,  CElla  and 
Cerdic,   were  repulsed  by  King  Arthur. 

The  Saxons,  by  the  year  ^JJ,  having  practically 
subverted  the  rest  of  the  kingdom,  turned  their 
attention  to  the  West.  They  seized  and  ravaged 
Bath.  The  Roman  structures  were  reduced  to 
ruins.  After  a  while  they  rebuilt  the  walls  and 
fortifications  upon  the  original  foundations,  em- 
ploying the  old  materials.  The  baths  also  were 
soon  restored.  By  this  time  the  Saxons  had  re- 
named the  city,  "  Hat  Bathur  "  (Hot  baths),  and 
"  Ace-mannes-ceaster  "  (City  of  invalids).  The 
"ceaster"  tacked  on  to  the  Saxon  word  is  the  first 
evidence  we  get  of  the  Saxon  recognition  of  the 
former  existence  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  this 
city. 

With  the  spreading  influence  of  Christianity 
travelling  from  the  east  to  the  west  of  England  in 
the  seventh  century,  a  nunnery  was  erected  here, 
in  676,  by  King  Osric.  This  was  destroyed  during 
the  wars  of  the  Heptarchy,  and  on  its  site  a  college 
of  secular  canons  was  founded,  in  'JJ^,  by  OfFa, 
King  of  Mercia.     This  monarch  had  taken  Bath 

[261] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

from  the  King  of  Wessex,  and  had  annexed  it  to 
his  own  kingdom.  Possibly  in  recognition  of  this 
victory  he  built  an  abbey  in  JJ^. 

After  this  the  city  evidently  increased  in  pros- 
perity, for  it  was  important  enough  to  witness  the 
coronation  of  Edgar  in  973,  as  King  of  England, 
by  Dunstan,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  At  the 
same  time  Edgar  converted  the  college  of  secular 
canons  into  a  Benedictine  monastery.  This,  with 
the  church,  was  again  demolished  by  the  Danes. 

This  city  of  Bath,  like  all  other  cities  of  that 
time,  came  under  the  Norman  Survey,  and  was 
entered  in  Doomsday  Book  as  Baden-ceaster. 
William  Rufus  had  scarce  been  crowned  king 
when  Bath  was  seized  and  burnt,  the  most  part 
by  GeofFry,  Bishop  of  Coutances,  and  Robert  de 
Mowbray.  They  had  jointly  risen  in  support  of 
the  claim  laid  to  the  throne  of  England  by  Robert 
Duke  of  Normandy.  But  under  the  abbacy  of 
John  de  Villula  it  soon  recovered  prosperity. 
This  abbot,  on  promotion  to  the  See  of  Wells, 
about  1090,  purchased  the  city  from  Henry  I. 
He  built  a  new  church,  and  removed  the  See  from 
Wells  to  this  place.  Here  it  remained  till  1193, 
when  Bishop  Savaricus  handed  it  over  to  Richard  I., 
in  exchange  for  Glastonbury  Abbey. 

About  this  time  Bath  received  its  first  charter  as 

[  262  ] 


BATH 

a  free  borough  from  this  monarch,  and  was  repre- 
sented in  Parliament  in  1297.  In  1330  the 
manufacture  of  woollen  cloth  was  established  by 
the  monks.  By  reason  of  this  the  shuttle  was 
incorporated  in  the  arms  of  the  monastery.  In 
1447,  and  in  1590,  Henry  VI.  and  Elizabeth 
respectively  granted  charters,  which  materially 
increased  the  prospects  of  the  city. 

This  present  cruciform  Abbey  Church  dates 
.from  1499.  It  is  dedicated  to  St.  Peter  and 
,St.  Paul,  and  forms  one  of  the  best  specimens  of 
the  later  style  of  English  architecture.  It  rests 
upon  the  site  of  the  conventual  church  of  the 
monastery  founded  by  Osric.  After  a  course  of 
eight  hundred  years  it  became  dilapidated,  and 
was  rebuilt  from  the  old  materials  in  1495,  ^Y 
Bishop  Oliver  King.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
admonished  in  a  dream.  He  did  not  live  to  see 
the  completion  of  the  building. 

As  the  citizens  refused  to  purchase  it  from  the 
Commissioners  of  Henry  VIII.,  the  walls  were  left 
roofless  till  Dr.  James  Montague,  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese,  with  the  aid  of  the  local  nobility  and 
gentry,  procured  the  necessary  funds,  and  finished 
it  in  1606. 

On  the  west  front  is  sculptured  the  founder's 
dream    of  angels    ascending    and    descending    on 

[  265  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Jacob's  ladder.  The  church  is  crowned  with  a 
quadrangular  tower  of  162  feet  in  height  from 
the  point  of  intersection. 

Though  the  medicinal  properties  of  the  springs 
of  Bath  attracted  from  the  earliest  times  the  con- 
tinuous attention  of  invalids,  it  was  only  under 
the  guidance  of  Beau  Nash,  the  gamester,  and  the 
enterprise  of  John  Wood,  the  architect,  that  it 
reached  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame  as  a  place 
of  fashionable  resort  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  works  of  Fielding,  Smollett,  Jane  Austen, 
Dickens,  Thackeray,  and  others,  give  us  a  clear 
insight  into  the  meteor-like  prosperity  of  the  city, 
for,  after  the  death  of  Nash,  it  gradually  relapsed 
to  its  normal  state,  and,  in  fact,  according  to 
statistics,  the  number  of  inhabitants  has  decreased 
even  within  the  last  few  years. 

A  brief  sketch  of  Beau  Nash  and  the  means 
adopted  will  account  in  some  measure  for  the 
marvellous  change  in  Bath  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  Nash  was  educated  at  Carmarthen 
Grammar  School,  and  Jesus  College,  Oxford. 
He  then  obtained  a  commission  in  the  army. 
This  he  soon  threw  up  to  become  a  law-student 
at  the  Middle  Temple.  Whilst  there  he  gained 
much  attention  by  his  wit  and  sociability.  These 
qualities  induced  his  fellow-students  to  elect  him 

[  266] 


BATH 

as  the  president  of  a  pageant  that  they  prepared 
for  William  III.  The  king  was  so  pleased  with 
Nash  that,  it  is  said,  he  offered  him  a  knighthood. 
This  Nash  refused  unless  accompanied  by  a  pension, 
which  was  not  granted. 

He  was  much  addicted  to  gambling,  which,  in 
addition  to  a  restless  spirit  and  an  empty  purse,  led 
him  in  1704  to  try  his  luck  at  Bath,  a  place  which 
then  offered  opportunities  to  a  gamester.  There  he 
soon  became  master  of  the  ceremonies,  in  succes- 
sion to  Captain  Webster.  Under  his  authority  re- 
forms were  introduced  which  speedily  accorded  to 
Bath  a  leading  position  as  a  fashionable  watering- 
place.  He  formed  a  strict  code  of  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  balls  and  assemblies;  allowed  no 
swords  to  be  worn  in  places  of  public  amuse- 
ment; persuaded  gentlemen  to  discard  boots  for 
shoes  and  stockings  when  in  assemblies  and  parades, 
and  introduced  a  tariff  for  lodgings. 

As  insignia  of  his  office  he  wore  an  immense 
white  hat,  and  a  richly  embroidered  dress.  He 
drove  about  in  a  chariot  with  six  greys,  and  laced 
lackeys  blew  French  horns.  When  Parliament 
abolished  gambling  it  caused  a  serious  check  to 
the  visits  of  fashionable  people  to  the  city.  How- 
ever, the  Corporation,  in  recognition  of  his  valuable 
services,  granted  Nash  a  pension  of  120  guineas  a 

[267] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

year,  and  at  his  death  in  1761  he  was  buried  with 
splendour  at  the  expense  of  the  town.  A  year 
after  his  demise  his  biography  was  anonymously 
published  in  London  by  Oliver  Goldsmith. 

John  Wood,  the  architect,  though  hardly  as  well 
known  to  posterity  as  Nash,  must  not  be  over- 
looked. Till  he  appeared  in  Bath  in  1728,  the 
city  had  been  confined  strictly  within  the  Roman 
limits.  The  suburbs  consisted  merely  of  a  few 
scattered  houses.  Wood  improved  and  enlarged 
the  city  by  his  architectural  efforts,  which  led  to 
the  quarrying  of  freestone  found  existing  in  the 
neighbourhood.  His  successors  carried  on  his 
enterprise. 

The  grand  Pump-room,  erected  in  1797,  with  a 
portico  of  Corinthian  columns ;  the  King's  Bath, 
with  a  Doric  colonnade ;  the  Queen's  Bath  ;  the 
Cross  Bath,  so  called  from  a  cross  erected  in  the 
centre  of  it ;  the  Hot  Bath,  on  account  of  its 
superior  degree  of  heat,  were  once  thronged  by 
fashionable  gatherings  in  the  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth centuries. 

The  architecture  in  the  eighteenth  century  at 
Bath  was  an  adaptation  of  the  Doric  and  Ionic 
orders.  Nearly  all  the  principal  buildings  were 
constructed  after  these  classic  principles.  St. 
Michael's  Church  belongs  to  the   Doric,  with  a 

[  268  ] 


BATH 

handsome  dome,  and  was  erected  in  1744.  Even 
the  Greek  influence  is  the  prevailing  feature  of 
Pulteney  Bridge. 

In  conclusion,  amongst  eminent  men  of  Bath 
may  be  mentioned :  John  Hales,  Greek  Professor 
at  Oxford  in  161 2;  and  Sir  Thomas  Bodley, 
founder  of  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  was  a 
native  of,  and  received  his  early  education  in  the 
Grammar  School  of  this  city.  Benjamin  Robins 
was  born  here  in  1707;  he  was  a  celebrated 
mathematician,  and  wrote  the  account  of  the 
voyage  of  Commodore  Anson  round  the  world. 

Amongst  the  tombs  in  the  Abbey  are  those  to 
the  memory  of  Quin,  Nash,  Broome,  Malthus,  and 
Melmothe. 

The  hot  springs  of  Bath  still  continue  to  alleviate 
the  aches  and  pains  of  invalid  visitors.  The  inter- 
esting history,  the  curious  mingling  of  Roman 
and  Later  English  architecture  with  the  revival 
of  the  Ionic  and  Doric  orders  in  the  eighteenth- 
century  buildings,  can  never  fail  to  be  of  interest 
alike  to  the  student  and  the  casual  visitor  in  Bath. 


[269] 


Salisberie. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

y'^^  ALISBURY  affords  a  remarkable  instance  of 
•^^^  the  complete  transference  of  the  cathedral 
J^^^  followed  by  the  ultimate  desert^ion  of  the 
city  in  the  change  from  old  Sarum,  the  original 
site,  to  New  Sarum,  another  within  a  short  distance 
—  one  might  almost  say  within  a  stone's  throw. 
In  the  old  days  of  prosperity  Old  Sarum,  now  simply 
a  conical  mass  of  ruins,  was  peopled  with  the 
Belgs,  who  came  from  Gaul  and  ousted  the  origi- 
nal inhabitants.  How  this  site  ever  came  to  be 
chosen  as  a  desirable  place  of  settlement  seems  to 
be  rather  a  mystery,  for  even  in  those  early  days 
constant  difficulties  arose  with  regard  to  the  in- 
sufficiency of  water.  They  aptly  called  it  "  the 
dry  city,"  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  meaning  of 
the  old  name  Searobyrig,  which  later  underwent 
a  further  contraction  —  Searborough.  This  arid 
spot,  however,  received  the  attention  of  the  Ro- 
mans, who  possibly  were  attracted  by  the  natural 

[  270] 


SALISBURY 

advantages  of  defence  offered  by  the  conical  mound 
rising  abruptly,  as  it  does,  from  the  valley.  They 
carried  on  the  old  name  and  Latinised  it,  as  they 
invariably  seemed  to  have  done,  or  rather  made  a 
compromise  between  the  native  and  their  own 
formation,  and  arrived  at  Sorbiordunum.  The 
scarcity  of  water  seems  not  to  have  deterred  them 
in  any  way,  as  witness  the  many  evidences  of  their 
fossae,  extensive  ramparts,  and  fortress  —  signs 
which  indicate  that  in  their  hands  Old  Sarum  was 
held  to  be  of  considerable  importance.  Roman 
roads  branched  out  of  it,  no  doubt  pointing  to  the 
four  cardinal  points,  in  accordance  with  regular 
custom,  though  their  whereabouts  may  be  difficult 
to  define,  seeing  that  several  centuries  have  passed 
since  the  desertion  of  Old  Sarum. 

With  their  passing  away  the  Roman  conquerors 
have  left  behind  them  many  relics,  possibly  in 
their  day  considered  worthless,  but  the  unearthing 
of  which  has  caused,  for  many  a  year,  unalloyed  joy 
and  given  a  priceless  treasure  to  the  unwearied  anti- 
quaries. Another  great  source  of  speculation  to 
the  archaeologists  has  been  the  temple  of  the 
Druids  erected  some  time  at  Stonehenge.  It  lies 
beyond  the  city  on  the  great  Salisbury  plain. 
This  primitive  form  of  architecture  takes  us  back 
to    many    years    before    Christ,    when    the    early 

[271] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Britons  wore  no  clothes,  save  the  skins  of  animals 
they  slew  in  the  chase,  and  when  they  could  neither 
read,  write,  weave,  nor  do  anything  which  would 
be  considered  nowadays  as  civilising.  They 
were  to  all  intents  and  purposes  mere  savages,  kept 
in  control  by  their  priests  and  lawgivers,  the 
Druids,  whom  they  held  in  the  greatest  respect. 
The  Britons,  we  are  told,  had  the  additional  dis- 
comfort of  dwelling  in  holes  burrowed  in  the 
ground,  or  in  miserably  constructed  huts.  In  view 
of  this  poor  state  of  domestic  architecture,  how 
they  ever  managed  to  erect  roofless  temples,  as  at 
Stonehenge  and  at  the  island  of  Anglesea,  and  to 
overcome,  what  must  have  been  to  them  a  very 
great  engineering  feat,  the  setting  up  of  the  heavy 
blocks  of  stone  in  situ,  seems  marvellous  and  not 
easy  of  explanation. 

The  great  veneration  in  which  the  Britons  held 
these  temples  of  the  Druids  is  much  accentuated 
by  an  incident  during  the  second  occupation  of 
Britain  by  the  Romans.  Suetonius  Paulinus,  one 
of  their  greatest  generals,  thought  that  by  destroy- 
ing the  temple  at  the  island  of  Anglesea  he  would 
shake  the  faith  of  the  Britons  in  their  priests,  and 
gain  thereby  a  speedier  conquest,  much  in  the 
same  way  as  when  Clive  in  India  knocked  down 
Dupleix's     column    to    undermine     the     French 

[  272] 


It  i-ffiwrr- 


SALISBURY 


HIGH     STREET     GATEWAY    INTO     THE     CLOSE 


SALISBURY 

influence  over  the  natives.  In  the  latter  case 
history  has  assured  us  of  the  ultimate  fulfilment  of 
hopes,  and  it  was  the  same  with  Paulinus  in  6i, 
only  on  his  return  to  the  mainland  he  all  but 
suffered  a  reverse  from  an  unexpected  rising  of 
Britons  under  Boadicea.  Nevertheless,  the  power 
of  the  Druids  was  irretrievably  broken  by  the 
slaughter  of  their  order  and  the  felling  of  the 
groves  at  Anglesea,  as  Paulinus  had  foreseen. 
What  the  object  and  origin  of  these  remains  at 
Stonehenge  were,  still  serve  as  an  interesting 
matter  for  controversy.  Competent  authorities, 
like  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  Polydore  Vergil,  and 
in  the  eighteenth  century  Dr.  Stukely,  arrived 
more  or  less  at  the  same  conclusions.  The  first 
named  said  that  Stonehenge  was  a  sepulchral 
monument  erected  by  Aurelius  Ambrosius,  who, 
according  to  a  tradition,  was  thus  led  by  the 
counsel  of  Merlin  to  commemorate  the  slaughter 
of  500  Britons  by  Hengist,  the  Saxon  chief,  about 
the  year  450  a.  d.  Polydore  Vergil  confined  him- 
self to  the  statement  that  it  was  the  ancient  temple 
of  the  Britons  in  which  the  Druids  officiated, 
whilst  Dr.  Stukely  asserted  that  the  Britons  here 
held  their  annual  meetings  at  which  laws  were 
passed  and  justice  administered.  He  was  also  for- 
tunate enough  to  discover  the  "  cursus,"  in  1723., 

[275] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

in  its  vicinity.  Perhaps  it  may  be  thought  that 
Stonehenge  is  out  of  place  in  this  account  of 
SaHsbury  ;  but  in  leaving  it  out  it  would  be  as 
much  as  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of  any  one's 
visit  to  this  ancient  cathedral  city  if  he  had  not 
also  seen  the   Druidical  remains. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Old  Sarum,  Cynric 
won  a  victory  over  the  Britons  in  the  year  552. 
Though  it  steadily  increased  in  importance,  little 
worthy  of  notice  occurred  there  till  the  close  of 
the  tenth  century.  At  the  small  town  of  Wilton, 
which  is  almost  three  miles  distant  from  Salisbury, 
the  seat  of  the  Diocese  was  originally  established  in 
the  first  years  of  the  tenth  century,  and  remained 
under  the  superintendence  of  eleven  succeeding 
bishops.  The  last  one  of  them  was  Hermannus. 
On  his  accession  to  the  See  of  Sherborne  —  an 
ancient  and  interesting  town  of  Dorsetshire  —  he 
annexed  it  to  the  Bishopric  of  Wilton.  He  there- 
upon founded,  for  these  united  sees,  a  cathedral 
church  at  Old  Sarum.  This  effort  of  his  was 
afterwards  completed  by  Osmund,  who  accom- 
panied William  the  Conqueror  to  England,  and 
was  by  him  appointed  bishop.  A  matter  of  sixty 
years  prior  to  the  Norman  invasion  Old  Sarum 
had  fallen  a  victim  in  1003  to  the  fury  of  Sweyn, 
the  King  of  Denmark.     This  was  in  accordance 

[  276  ] 


SALISBURY 


THE    MARKET  CROSS 


SALISBURY 

with  a  vow  of  retaliation  he  had  made  when  he 
learnt  of  the  murder  of  his  sister  in  the  general 
massacre  of  the  Danes,  which  had  taken  place  the 
year  before.  This  unhappy  period,  when  many 
other  counties  besides  Wiltshire  suffered  exten- 
sively, was  during  the  reign  of  Ethelred  the 
Unready. 

In  the  great  plain  of  Salisbury  the  Conqueror, 
in  1070,  passed  a  review  of  his  army,  just  flushed 
with  their  victories  in  the  neighbourhood.  On  the 
completion  of  his  great  survey,  the  "  Doomsday 
Book,"  in  1086,  he  here  at  Salisberie,  as  he  renamed 
the  city,  received  the  homage  and  oath  of  alle- 
giance from  the  English  landlords.  Till  the  year 
1 217  the  See  remained  at  Old  Sarum,  and  even 
after  the  complete  depopulation  and  the  demoli- 
tion of  every  house  of  this  ancient  Roman  site,  it 
still  was  represented  regularly  at  Parliament  by 
two  members  till  the  year  1832. 

The  reasons  that  led  to  the  choice  of  the  new 
site  by  Bishop  Poore  were  the  many  advantages 
offered,  especially  the  abundance  of  water  by  New 
Sarum,  as  it  was  called,  as  set  against  the  exposure 
to  the  stormy  winds  which  it  was  alleged  went 
even  so  far  as  to  drown  the  voice  of  the  officiating 
priest,  the  congestion  of  houses  within  its  narrow 
limits,  the  difficulty  of  procuring  water,  and  finally 

[279] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  despotism  of  the  governor  at  Old  Sarum. 
To  rid  himself  of  these  inconveniences,  Bishop 
Poore  procured  the  papal  authority  to  the  re- 
moval of  the  Cathedral  from  Old  Sarum  to  its 
present  site  in  the  year  1218,  though  not  till  the 
Reformation  was  the  service  discontinued  in  the 
old  buildings. 

By  then  New  Sarum  had  reaped  the  full  benefit 
of  the  new  conditions  and  surroundings.  Though 
only  two  miles  away,  the  old  place,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  rising  of  the  new  township,  sank  to 
a  few  inhabitants,  loth  perhaps  to  part  with  old 
associations. 

The  first  building  to  appear  in  New  Sarum,  or 
Salisbury  as  we  shall  henceforth  call  it,  seems  to 
have  been  the  wooden  chapel  of  St.  Mary,  the 
erection  of  which  was  commenced  in  the  Easter  of 
the  year  1219.  This  was  followed  in  the  year 
1220  by  the  foundation  of  the  new  cathedral  as 
planned  by  Bishop  Poore.  It  was  completed  and 
dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  in  1258. 
The  ground-plan  is  that  of  a  Greek  or  double 
cross.  With  the  slight  exceptions  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  tower  and  the  spire,  which  belong  to  a 
later  date,  the  entire  fabric  represents  the  purest 
style  of  the  Early  English  architecture.  The 
cloisters,  built  by  Bishop  Walter  de  la  Wyle,  are 

[  280  ] 


>- 

CO 

m 

c 

CO 

J 

O 

J 

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X 

C/5 

h 

SALISBURY 

the  largest  and  most  magnificent  of  any  in  the 
kingdom.  They  are  of  the  late  Early  English 
style,  and  took,  with  the  addition  of  the  Chapter 
House  by  the  same  prelate,  from  1 263  till  i  274  to 
complete. 

Shortly  after,  the  upper  part  of  the  tower  was 
built  in  the  Decorated  style  by  Bishop  Wyville, 
about  1330.  Five  years  later  it  was  capped  by 
the  highest  spire  in  England.  A  marvellous 
achievement  of  lightness  of  design,  of  slenderness 
and  beauty  of  proportion,  it  reaches  from  base  to 
crown  to  the  remarkable  height  of  four  hundred 
and  four  feet.  Its  great  height  has  caused  much 
anxiety  from  time  to  time,  through  the  enormous 
pressure  exerted  upon  the  tower  beneath  it. 

This  unique  example  of  a  spire  was  followed 
next  by  a  chapel  built  by  Bishop  Beauchamp 
between  1450  and  1482.  Another  was  carried 
out  by  Lord  Hungerford  in  1476.  These  two 
chapels,  together  with  an  elegant  campanile,  were 
entirely  swept  away  in  the  restorations  that  took 
place  under  the  direction  of  the  architect  James 
Wyatt.  No  doubt  the  Cathedral  required  extensive 
repairs,  but  it  seems  regrettable  that  any  architect 
should  have  caused  such  demolition,  instead  of 
endeavouring  to  make  good  the  ravages  of  time. 
As  for  the  old  west  front,  the  coloured  drawing 

[  283  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

of  Mr.  Collins  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  its  rich 
sculpturesque  beauty. 

The  Cathedral  is  isolated  in  the  centre  of  an 
immense  lawn,  as  it  were.  This  again  can  be  kept 
private  by  the  Close,  the  area  of  which  extends  to 
half  a  mile  square.  Within  its  limits  is  a  delight- 
ful mall  shaded  with  trees,  as  there  are  also  the 
Bishop's  Palace,  —  a  building  of  various  dates, 
originated  by  Poore  the  founder, — the  Deanery,  and 
several  other  houses.  We  have  said  elsewhere 
that  the  Cathedral  Close  of  Salisbury  may  be  con- 
sidered the  best  example  of  its  kind  in  England, 
though  that  at  Wells  is  not  far  behind.  The 
close  was  an  enclosure,  within  the  precincts  of  the 
cathedral,  reserved  for  the  dwellings  originally 
intended  for  the  exclusive  domestic  use  of  the 
Bishop  and  canons.  This,  however,  is  not  strictly 
observed  now. 

Two  or  three  delightful  gateways  of  ancient 
character  and  beautiful  design  give  access  to  the 
Cathedral  Close  of  Salisbury.  Appended  to  the 
Cathedral  is  the  beautiful  Chapter  House,  lighted 
by  lofty  windows.  It  is  octagonal  in  form,  the 
roof  of  which  is  upheld  by  a  central  clustered 
column.  A  frieze  in  bas-relief,  carried  round  the 
interior  of  the  building,  is  ornamented  with 
biblical   subjects.       At   different    times    numerous 

[284] 


SALISBURY 

monuments,  chiefly  to  the  bishops  of  the  See,  have 
been  erected,  notably  those  to  Bishops  Joceline 
and  Roger. 

A  monument  to  one  of  the  children  of  the  choir 
has  a  sad  interest.  It  was  customary  during  the 
festival  of  St.  Nicholas  for  one  of  the  choristers  to 
personate  the  character  of  a  bishop.  In  this  case 
the  boy-bishop  died  while  performing  his  role. 

The  other  interesting  buildings  of  the  town  are 
the  parish  churches  of  St.  Martin,  St.  Thomas,  and 
St.  Edmond;  the  banqueting  hall  of  J.  Halle, 
who  was  a  wool  merchant  in  1470;  Audley 
House,  which  also  dates  from  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  which  in  1881  underwent  a  thorough  repair. 
It  serves  now  as  the  Church  House  of  the  Diocese. 
Elizabeth's  Grammar  School,  St.  Nicholas  Hos- 
pital, founded  in  Richard  II. 's  reign,  and  Trinity 
House,  established  by  Agnes  Bottenham  in  1379, 
are  interesting  links  of  medievalism. 

In  this  period  must  also  be  included  the  Poul- 
try Cross.  It  is  a  high  cross,  hexagonal  in  form. 
Its  space  is  well  distributed  by  six  arches  and  a 
central  pillar.  Lord  Montacute  erected  it  just 
prior  to  the  year  1335. 

The  city's  prosperity  depended  upon  that  of  the 
church.  In  fact  it  was  laid  out  according  to 
Bishop  Poore's  plan.     The  citizens  deserted  Old 

[285] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Sarum  to  settle  around  the  new  ecclesiastical 
establishment  at  New  Sarum.  In  1227,  by  a 
charter  of  Henry  III.,  the  city  enjoyed  the  same 
freedom  and  liberties  as  those  of  Winchester. 
The  government  of  the  city  became  vested  in 
a  mayor,  recorder,  deputy-recorder,  twenty-four 
aldermen,  and  various  other  subordinate  officers. 
The  charter  was  confirmed  by  successive  sovereigns 
till  the  accession  of  Anne. 

Salisbury,  or  New  Sarum,  was  first  represented 
at  Parliament  in  1295.  In  1885,  by  the  Redistri- 
bution Act,  its  two  representatives  were  reduced 
to  one.  The  city  itself  has  also  witnessed  the 
assembly  of  Parliament  within  its  limits  on  various 
occasions.  For  being  implicated  in  a  conspiracy 
for  deposing  Richard  III.  to  raise  Henry  Tudor, 
Earl  of  Richmond,  to  the  throne,  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham  was  in  1484  executed  at  Salisbury. 
For  a  reward  of  ^1000  the  Duke  was  betrayed 
by  a  dependent  with  whom  he  was  in  hiding  in 
Shropshire. 

During  the  Civil  War  the  city  was  held  alter- 
nately by  both  parties.  Since  then  the  citizens 
have  been  left  in  comparative  peace,  intent  on 
their  several  industries.  At  one  time  they  were 
actively  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  woollen 
articles  and  in  the  manufacture  of  excellent  cut- 

[286] 


m 
< 

CO 


SALISBURY 

lery.  These  are  now  declined,  and  such  com- 
modities as  boots  and  shoes  take  the  first  rank, 
whilst  the  shops  depend  mainly  on  the  villages 
and  agriculture  around.  The  many  places  of  anti- 
quity in  this  ancient  city  of  the  county  of  Wilt- 
shire have  furnished  many  interesting  paleolithic 
relics  for  the  reception  of  which  the  Blackmore 
Museum  was  established.  The  library  was  insti- 
tuted by  Bishop  Jewal,  in  1560  to  1571. 

There  have  been  many  men  of  note  from  Salis- 
bury. The  celebrated  poet  and  essayist  Addison, 
born  near  Amesbury  in  this  county  of  Wiltshire, 
was  educated  at  the  Grammar  School  for  choristers 
within  the  Close.  Amongst  the  many  eminent 
natives  of  the  city  are  included  William  Hermann, 
author  of  several  works  in  prose  and  verse  ;  George 
Coryate,  who  wrote  "  The  Crudities " ;  John 
Greenhill,  a  celebrated  portrait  painter ;  William 
and  Henry  Lawes,  both  musicians  and  composers  ; 
and  James  Harris,  author  of  "  Hermes."  But  the 
most  conspicuous,  or  rather  the  best  known,  is 
Henry  Fawcett,  the  politician  and  economist. 

Born  in  1833,  he  was  the  second  son  of  a  draper 
who,  starting  as  an  assistant,  became  afterwards  his 
own  master.  He  was  enabled  to  afford  his  son 
Henry  a  good  education  at  King's  College  and 
Peterhouse,  Cambridge,  from  which  he  migrated 
19  [  289  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

to  Trinity  Hall.  He  became  Seventh  Wrangler 
and  Fellow  of  his  College.  At  the  Cambridge 
Union,  Fawcett  gained  considerable  notice  for  his 
oratory.  His  ambition  conceived  the  idea  of  attain- 
ing the  highest  honours  in  the  kingdom  through 
the  profession  of  a  barrister.  For  this  purpose  he 
entered  Lincoln's  Inn,  but  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  a  terrible  accident  happened  to  him.  His 
eyesight  was  lost  by  two  stray  pellets  from  the 
gun  of  his  father. 

Though  his  plans  of  advancement  were  altered, 
he  determined  within  ten  minutes  of  the  catastrophe 
to  continue  his  old  pursuits  of  rowing,  fishing, 
skating,  riding,  and  even  playing  at  cards  which 
were  marked.  He  became  Liberal  candidate  for 
Brighton  in  1865,  and  entered  Parliament  just 
when  Palmerston's  career  came  to  a  close.  He 
opposed  Gladstone's  scheme  for  universal  educa- 
tion in  Ireland.  He  was  an  opponent  to  Disraeli's 
Government. 

On  the  return  of  the  Liberal  Party  to  power 
Fawcett  was  offered  the  post  of  Postmaster-General, 
though  without  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  He  intro- 
duced five  important  postal  reforms  ;  namely,  the 
parcels-post,  postal-orders,  sixpenny  telegrams, 
the  banking  of  small  savings  by  means  of  stamps, 

and  increased  facilities  for  life  insurance  and  annui- 

[  290  ] 


SALISBURY 

ties.      He  also  invented  the  little  slot  label,  "  next 
collection,"  on  the  pillar-boxes. 

The  employment  of  women  he  greatly  advocated. 
The  defeat  of  the  scheme  for  the  deforestation  of 
Epping  Forest  and  the  New  Forest  was  entirely  due 
to  the  exertions  of  this  great  politician. 

After  a  marvellous  career  of  many  years  Fawcett 
died  in  1884.  From  humble  origin,  and  in  spite 
of  his  blindness,  if  he  did  not  realise  his  full  am- 
bition, he  reached  to  an  exalted  position  in  the 
State  —  an  achievement  never  accomplished  by 
any  one  under  like  disability. 


[291] 


€j:tttx 


IN  the  great  peninsula  that  runs  out  into  the 
Atlantic  is  Devonshire,  adjoining  Cornwall, 
that  dwindles  to  the  Land's  End,  the  point 
eagerly  welcomed  by  visitors  to  England,  the  last 
of  the  Old  Country  to  which  a  farewell  is  given. 
Through  the  northern  portion  of  Devonshire 
meanders  the  river  Exe,  having  established  its 
source  in  Somersetshire.  Quite  ten  miles  before 
the  river  empties  its  waters  at  the  mouth  into  the 
English  Channel,  on  a  broad  ridge  of  land  rising 
steeply  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Exe,  is  the  old 
city  of  Exeter.  It  is  the  chief  of  the  county,  and 
has  had  a  varied  existence. 

For  the  earliest  period  of  Exeter,  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth  supplies  much  information,  which  has 
been  greatly  borne  out  by  subsequent  researches. 
He  considered  that  Exeter  was  a  city  of  the 
Britons  some  time  before  the  Romans  elected  to 
establish  their  camp.  The  British  named  it  in- 
differently Cicr-Wisc  (city  of  the  water),  or  Casr 
Rydh  (the  red  city),  from  the  coloured  nature  of 

[  292] 


EXETER 

the  soil.  When  captured  by  the  Romans  they 
made  it  a  stipendiary  town.  They  called  it  Isca, 
to  which  was  added  Danmoniorum,  to  avoid 
confusion  with  the  other  Isca,  a  Latinised  name 
given  also  to  a  town  on  the  river  (now  Usk) 
in  Monmouthshire.  Many  proofs  of  Roman  oc- 
cupation have  turned  up  in  the  shape  of  numerous 
coins  and  other  relics. 

The  year  1778  was  especially  notable  for  the 
excavations  which  brought  to  light  many  im- 
portant objects.  Small  statuettes  of  Mercury, 
Mars,  Ceres,  and  Apollo,  evidently  the  household 
gods  of  the  Romans,  together  with  urns,  tiles,  and 
tessellated  pavements,  were  unearthed.  Exeter  at 
one  time  went  by  the  name  of  Augusta,  which 
was  due  to  its  having  been  occupied  by  the  Second 
Augustan  Legion,  whose  commander,  Vespasian, 
included  the  city  under  his  conquest  Britannia 
Prima.  The  same  legion,  during  the  period 
47  to  52,  had  also  a  permanent  station  at  Isca 
Silurum,  as  Csrleon-on-the-Usk  in  Monmouth 
was  called.  But  as  Vespasian  continued  the  con- 
quest, 69  to  79,  it  seems  fair  to  surmise  that  the 
Second  Legion  of  Augusta  was  advanced  or  a 
portion  sent  from  Isca  Silurum  to  garrison  Isca 
Danmoniorum,  the  present  Exeter. 

For  a  considerable  time  it  was  the  capital  of  the 

[  293  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

West  Saxon  kingdom.  It  was  probably  during  the 
Saxon  occupation  that  the  city  changed  its  name 
to  Excestre,  which  would  easily  be  contracted  into 
that  of  Exeter.  In  violation  of  a  compact  made 
with  Alfred,  who  was  a  Saxon  monarch,  the  Danes 
seized  the  city.  They  were,  however,  compelled 
to  evacuate  it,  together  with  the  surrender  of  all 
their  prisoners  within  the  West  Saxon  territory,  by 
Alfred,  in  877.  This  monarch  was  again  called 
upon  in  894  to  relieve  the  Saxons  from  their 
Danish  oppressors.  The  next  century  witnessed  a 
marked  improvement  in  the  prosperity  of  the  city. 
It  had  from  quite  an  early  period  been  distinguished 
for  its  numerous  monastic  institutions,  so  much  so 
that  it  was  said  to  have  been  called  "  Monk  Town  " 
by  Britons  in  Cornwall  and  the  heathen  Saxons. 
They  were  pleased  to  deride  it  thus,  but  when 
Athelstan  came  he  clearly  made  them  understand 
that  it  was  no  happy  state  to  be  without  the  pale 
of  the  Church.  He  so  thoroughly  instilled  into 
them  the  necessity  of  imbibing  the  principles  of 
religion  that  those  who  were  unwilling  to  become 
converts  were  expelled. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few,  we  may  take  it 
that  many  embraced  Christianity  as  a  matter  of 
compulsion  or  for  expediency's  sake,  for  in  those 
days  of  hard  knocks  it  was  hardly  likely  that  any 

[  294  ] 


EXETER. 

FROM    THE     PALACE    GARDENS 


EXETER 

mass  of  ignorant  peasants  would  comprehend  any- 
thing but  the  most  stringent  measures.  The 
transition  from  heathen  darkness  to  the  Hght  of 
Christianity  must  have  meant  a  severe  initiation  to 
two-thirds  of  the  population  of  Exeter  at  the  time 
of  Athelstan's  accession.  He  came  westward  about 
the  year  926  and  found  the  Britons  and  Saxons 
living  amicably  and  enjoying  equal  rights.  The 
city  had  by  them  already  been  called  Exenceaster, 
that  is,  the  "cester"  or  fortified  town  on  the 
"  Exe."  Athelstan  augmented  the  number  of 
religious  institutions  by  the  foundation  of  a 
Benedictine  monastery.  The  building  was  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Peter,  the  establishment  of  which  there 
seems  no  reason  to  doubt  gave  birth  eventually  to 
the  present  cathedral.  Besides  this  he  materially 
increased  the  importance  of  the  town  by  appoint- 
ing two  mints  and  erecting  regular  fortifications 
with  towers  and  a  wall  of  hewn  stone.  Athelstan's 
monastery  was  destroyed  by  the  Danes.  King 
Edgar  in  968  restored  it,  and  appointed  Sydemann 
to  the  Abbacy,  as  it  then  became.  Ultimately  this 
abbot  was  raised  to  the  Bishopric  of  Crediton, 
which  was  the  seat  of  the  Devonshire  Diocese 
about  910.  In  1003  Exeter,  after  a  gallant  defence 
of  some  three  months'  duration,  was  betrayed  by 
its  governor  into  the  hands  of  Sweyn.     As    has 

[  297  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

been  said  elsewhere,  this  king  came  from  Denmark 
especially  to  punish  Ethelred  the  Unready  for 
having  allowed  the  massacre  of  Danes,  in  which 
the  sister  of  Sweyn  had  perished.  The  monastery 
of  St.  Peter  was  not  spared,  nor  was  the  city, 
which  did  not  recover  from  the  terrible  visitation 
till  the  accession  of  Canute. 

From  this  time  Exeter  increased  to  such  im- 
portance and  wealth  that  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
the  Confessor  it  was  deemed  advisable  and  for 
better  security  to  make  it  the  head  of  the  Diocese. 

For  this  purpose  the  Sees  of  Crediton  and  St. 
Germans  (Cornwall)  were  united  under  one  bishop. 
To  uphold  worthily  the  new  dignity,  the  abbey 
church  of  St.  Peter  was  erected  into  a  cathedral 
by  the  Confessor,  who  appointed  his  chaplain 
Leofric  as  first  bishop  of  the  united  see.  Leofric 
had  the  monks  removed  to  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  installed  in  their  stead  were  twenty-four  secular 
canons.  The  date  of  Leofric's  installation  is  about 
1 040,  which  is,  of  course,  that  of  the  foundation 
of  the  Cathedral.  This  arrangement  was  altered 
on  the  re-erection  of  the  Cornish  See  in  1876. 

In  William  the  Conqueror's  time  Githa,  the 
mother  of  Harold,  gave  the  Normans  considerable 
trouble.  It  was  only  on  the  appearance  of  that 
monarch  before  the  city's  walls  that  the  citizens 

[298] 


EXETER 

surrendered.  They  were  made  to  pay  a  heavy 
fine,  whilst  Githa  escaped  with  her  treasures  to 
take  refuge  in  Flanders.  William  in  the  end 
relented  and  renewed  all  their  former  privileges. 
Nevertheless  he  took  the  precaution  to  erect  a 
fortress  in  Exeter,  the  charge  of  which  was 
entrusted  to  Baldwin  de  Brioniis,  who,  by  virtue 
of  his  office,  became  Earl  of  Devon  and  sheriff 
of  the  county.  The  chief  remains  of  the  Castle 
is  a  gateway  tower. 

This  same  castle  was  held  by  the  partisans  of 
the  Empress  Matilda  for  three  months,  when  it 
was  compelled  in  1 1  36  through  scarcity  of  water 
to  surrender  to  Stephen.     Contrary  to  expectation, 
they  were  treated  very  well.      Henry  II.,  for  their 
loyalty,  was  pleased  to  grant  additional  privileges. 
In  1200  the  city  for  the  first  time  was  governed 
by  a  mayor  and  corporation.     Subsequently  their 
importance    was    increased    by    the    charters    of 
Edward    III.,    Edward    IV.,    and    Henry    VIII., 
whilst   Henry  VIII.  constituted   Exeter  a   county 
of    itself     These    privileges    were    extended    by 
Charles  I.;  and  in   1684  a  new  charter  of  incor- 
poration was  granted  by  Charles  II.,  but  not  put 
into    effect.      In    1770  George   III.  renewed  and 
confirmed  the  charter,  since  when  the  government 
has   been  invested   in    a    mayor    assisted    by   sub- 

[  299] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ordinate  officers.  In  the  meantime  a  curious 
incident  occurred  in  1824,  which  greatly  interfered 
with  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  inasmuch  as  the 
navigation  of  the  river  Exe  was  obstructed  by  a 
dam  erected  by  Hugh  Courtenay,  at  that  time 
Earl  of  Devon. 

Exeter,  through  its  happy  situation  on  the  river 
Exe,  had  for  many  years  reaped  full  benefit.  At 
the  time  of  the  Conquest  it  had  gained  considerable 
importance  through  the  river  being  navigable  for 
ships  right  up  to  its  quays.  Among  many  petty 
matters  that  annoyed  the  Earl  the  following  is 
alleged  to  have  been  the  chief.  There  were  three 
pots  of  fish  in  the  market-place.  The  Earl 
wanted  them  all.  The  Bishop  likewise.  Neither 
would  give  way,  and  the  Mayor  was  called  in  to 
adjudicate.  He  allotted  one  to  the  Earl,  the 
second  to  the  Bishop,  and  the  third  to  the  town. 
This  distribution  did  not  suit  the  Earl.  Out  of 
pique  he  caused  a  dam  to  be  constructed  across  the 
Exe  at  Topsham.  There  he  built  a  quay,  and  had 
the  satisfaction  of  greatly  curtailing  the  trade  of 
Exeter. 

In  1286  Edward  I.  assembled  a  parliament  at 
Exeter,  whilst  in  1371  the  Black  Prince  brought 
here  his  royal  prisoner  of  France  and  stayed 
several  days.     The    Duchess  of  Clarence,  accom- 

[  300  ] 


EXETER 
mol's  coffee  tavern 


EXETER 

panied  by  many  royal  adherents,  took  refuge 
within  the  city  walls  in  1469.  It  was  besieged 
by  Sir  William  Courtenay,  who  eventually  raised 
it  on  the  mediation  of  the  clergy. 

The  next  event  of  importance  not  only  affected 
Exeter,  but  threw  into  agitation  the  whole  of  the 
British  Empire.  Of  two  impostors  that  laid  claim 
to  the  Crown  which  Henry  VII.  was  wearing,  the 
second  was  a  youth  called  Perkin  Warbeck.  He 
bore  such  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Planta- 
genets  that  he  had  been  secretly  instructed  to 
impersonate  Richard  Duke  of  York,  the  younger 
brother  of  Edward  V.,  who  it  was  pretended  had 
escaped  from  the  Tower  and  from  the  fate  that 
overtook  his  brother.  So  ingratiating  was  his 
manner  that  he  successfully  enlisted  the  aid  of  the 
Duchess  of  Burgundy,  who  was  holding  her  court 
at  Brussels.  His  first  attempt  to  land  in  England 
was  in  Kent ;  his  second  in  Ireland.  Both  ven- 
tures being  unsuccessful,  he  tried  Scotland.  There 
he  convinced  King  James  IV.  that  he  was  a  true 
Plantagenet,  and  through  him  he  raised  an  army 
and  invaded  England.  However,  the  two  kings 
having  come  to  an  understanding,  Warbeck  retired 
to  Ireland.  He  there  received  an  invitation  from 
the  Cornishmen,  acting  on  which  he  landed  at 
Whitsand  Bay  in  that  county. 

[303] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

At  Bodmin  he  was  joined  by  a  considerable 
force  of  men,  with  whom  he  marched  and  laid 
siege  to  Exeter  in  the  year  1497.  ^^  ^^^ 
approach  of  the  royal  forces  his  followers  were 
dispersed,  whilst  he  fled  to  Beaulieu  in  Hampshire. 
Two  years  afterwards  he  ended  his  career  at 
Tyburn. 

In  1536  Exeter  was  erected  a  county  of  itself. 
The  year  1 549  saw  the  investment  of  the  city  by  a 
numerous  body  of  popish  adherents,  from  whom  it 
was  relieved  by  John  Lord  Russell  in  August.  On 
the  very  day  of  its  investment,  the  second  of  July, 
the  strange  spectacle  of  Welch  being  hanged  from 
the  tower  of  his  own  church,  in  which  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  officiate  as  vicar,  took  place. 
He  suffered  on  the  charge  of  being  a  Cornish 
rebel.  During  the  parliamentary  war  it  was 
taken  and  retaken,  finally  to  be  surrendered  to  the 
Roundheads  in  1646.  Throughout  it  all  the 
citizens  were  warm  supporters  of  the  Stuarts,  as 
they  had  always  been  to  the  Crown.  So  much  so 
was  their  loyalty  that  in  a  previous  reign,  that  of 
Elizabeth,  she  presented  to  the  Corporation,  with 
many  other  marks  of  her  royal  favour,  the  motto 
'*  Semper  Fidelis."  During  the  stay  of  the 
parliamentary  troops  under  General  Fairfax,  the 
Cathedral  was  ruthlessly  defaced  and  divided  into 

[  304  ] 


EXETER 

places  of  worship  for  Presbyterians  and  Independ- 
ents. The  palace  adjoining  was  also  turned  into 
barracks,  and  the  Chapter  House  converted  into 
stables.  During  these  troubles  Queen  Henrietta 
Maria,  the  consort  of  Charles  I.,  had  returned  to 
Exeter  from  Oxford,  believing  herself  to  be  in 
dano-er  from  the  hatred  with  which  she  feared 
she  was  regarded  by  the  people.  Here  she 
gave  birth  to  her  youngest  child,  the  Princess 
Henrietta.  Leaving  the  infant  at  Exeter  she 
escaped  to  France. 

In  the  Guildhall,  which  is  a  picturesque  Eliza- 
bethan building,  are  two  full-length  portraits :  one 
depicts  the  features  of  General   Monk,  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  painted  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  ;   the  other 
was  given  by  Charles  II.  to    the  Corporation  as 
some  slight  acknowledgment  of  the  city's  loyalty. 
It  represents   the   portrait   of  his    sister.   Princess 
Henrietta,  then    Duchess  of  Orleans.     James  II. 
was  the  next  sovereign  to  bestow  favour,  which 
he  did  by  establishing  a  mint  in   1688.      His  in- 
fluence was  shortlived,  for  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange  in  the  August  of  the  same  year 
the  inhabitants  readily  submitted.     This  prince  is 
credited  with  establishing  a  mint  at  Exeter,  or  it 
may  be  he  simply  completed  or  confirmed  that  of 
his  predecessor.     The  following  year  saw  him  on 

ao  [  305  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  throne  of  the  kingdom  as  William  III.,  which 
ratified  the  declaration  he  had  caused  to  be  read 
by  Burnet  in  the  Cathedral  of  Exeter.  Though 
visited  by  subsequent  reigning  princes,  their  pres- 
ence may  be  said  to  have  conferred  more  honour 
than  to  have  promoted  any  material  changes  to  the 
prosperity  of  Exeter. 

The  mainstay  of  the  city  is  the  glorious  Cathedral, 
and  the  quaintness  of  some  of  its  houses  and  streets 
is  unique.  They  afford  a  great  attraction  to  visi- 
tors, who  are  willing  to  go  a  long  railway  journey 
west  simply  to  see  and  compare  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  the  Cathedral  with  the  many  others 
dotted  throughout  Great  Britain. 

The  actual  date  of  the  Cathedral  is  in  1049.  Its 
origin,  as  we  have  seen,  occasioned  no  turning  of 
the  soil  to  receive  foundations,  but  merely  the 
conventual  church  of  the  monks,  removed  by 
Edward  the  Confessor  to  his  new  abbey  at 
Westminster,  adapted  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
Bishop  Leofric  and  his  secular  canons  appointed 
to  the  united  Sees  of  Devon  and  Cornwall.  The 
head  of  the  Diocese  was  at  Exeter.  What  was 
the  size  and  character  of  the  converted  monastic 
church  at  that  time  no  two  authorities  seem  able 
to  agree.  According  to  an  old  record  at  Oxford 
its  lease  soon  ran  out,  for  in  the  year  1112a  new 

[306] 


EXETER 

church  was  commenced  by  Bishop  Warlewast, 
continued  by  his  successors,  and  finally  completed 
by  Bishop  Marshall,  who  died  in  1 206.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  carried  out  the  plan  of 
Warlewast  ;  but  as  the  whole  of  the  fabric,  with 
the  exception  of  the  towers,  was  entirely  rebuilt 
in  1280,  the  original  design  is  chiefly  conjectural. 
The  body  of  the  church  probably  corresponded  in 
character  with  the  two  massive  transeptal  towers. 
These  are  quite  a  feature  in  that,  with  the  exception 
of  those  at  the  collegiate  church  of  Ottery  in 
Devonshire,  they  exist  nowhere  else  in  England. 
This  arrangement  of  the  towers  did  away  with 
the  necessity  of  either  a  central  tower  or  lantern. 
It  enabled  the  architect  to  extend  a  long  unbroken 
roof  throughout  the  nave  and  choir.  The  aisles, 
with  the  intervention  of  richly  clustered  pillars 
and  pointed  arches  springing  from  their  caps,  range 
along  on  either  side  of  the  nave.  With  the  sets 
of  ribs  starting  each  from  a  clustered  centre,  and 
spreading  out  as  they  soar  towards  the  highest 
limit  of  the  roof,  as  grand  an  exposition  of  beauty 
and  noble  gradations  of  perspective  lines,  as  con- 
ceived by  architects  of  the  Decorative  period,  have 
been  realised.  The  period  of  this  rebuilding  was 
commenced  in  1280  with  the  Early  English  style 
of  architecture  by   Bishop  Quivil,  and  was  com- 

[  307  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

pleted  in  1369  in  the  best  years  of  the  Decorated 
style,  just  a  few  years  before  the  Perpendicular 
came  into  vogue.  It  is  said  that  this  cathedral 
served  as  a  model  for  the  church  at  Ottery. 
Though  this  cathedral  in  miniature  resembles 
the  great  edifice  in  Exeter  in  certain  points, 
notably  the  transeptal  towers,  yet,  if  the  principal 
part  of  it  dates  from  i  260,  it  can  hardly,  with  the 
one  exception,  have  been  a  copy  of  the  chief 
church  of  the  Diocese.  The  Early  English 
work  of  Ottery  church  takes,  by  comparison  of 
dates,  priority  over  that  at  Exeter  by  some  twenty 
years. 

The  west  front,  which  is  one  mass  of  elegant 
tracery  and  canopied  niches  adorned  with  statuary, 
is  the  Decorated  period  merged  into  that  of  the 
Perpendicular,  covering  the  years  from  about  i  369 
to  1394,  under  the  episcopacy  of  Brantingham. 
The  windows  are  excellent  examples  of  elegant 
tracing.  Under  successive  bishops  after  Quivil, 
the  chief  alteration  was  the  lengthening  of  the 
nave  and  the  roof  vaulted  by  Grandison.  The 
year  1420  really  saw  the  completion  of  the  build- 
ing under  Bishop  Lacey.  Time  and  weather  having 
caused  certain  decay.  Sir  G.  G.  Scott  was  directed 
in  1870  to  restore  it.  The  undertaking  took 
seven  years,     A  new  stall,   a  reredos,    the    choir 

[308] 


EXETER 


INTERIOR     OF     THE     NAVE 


EXETER 

repaved,  rich  marbles  and  porphyries  used,  and 
stained  glass  put  up  mainly  by  Clayton  and  Bell, 
were  the  chief  items  of  restoration.  When  erect- 
ing the  reredos  Scott  could  never  have  foreseen  the 
little  storm  it  gave  rise  to,  just  when  he  was  half- 
way through  with  the  general  renovation.  Pre- 
bendary Philpotts,  the  Chancellor,  and  several 
others  had  their  conscientious  objections,  which 
they  laid  before  the  Bishop's  visitation  court  in 
1873.  ^^  was  ruled  that  the  Bishop  had  the  juris- 
diction in  the  matter.  He  ordered  the  removal 
of  the  reredos  in  April  1874.  In  August  of  the 
same  year  Dean  Boyd  appealed  to  the  Court  of 
Arches,  and  had  the  previous  decision  reversed  by 
Sir  R.  Phillimore.  However,  Prebendary  Philpotts 
saw  fit  to  appeal  to  the  Judicial  Committee  of 
the  Privy  Council.  They  decided  that  the  reredos 
should  remain.  Thus  in  1875  was  ended  the  con- 
troversy ;  and  there  rests  Sir  G.  G.  Scott's  design, 
open  to  the  criticism  of  all  who  are  capable  of 
framing  an  impartial  one. 

In  this  same  year  of  1875  niuch  excitement 
arose  over  the  church-tax.  It  was  called  in- 
differently "  dominicals  "  and  "  sacrament  money/' 
which  were  said  to  be  of  the  nature  of  tithes. 
However,  the  disputes  were  ended  by  the  dis- 
traints for  payment. 

[3"] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

In  the  Chapter  House  is  preserved  an  important 
manuscript,  including  the  famous  book  of  Saxon 
poetry  presented  by  Leofric  on  his  accession  to  the 
See  of  Exeter.  It  is  called  the  "  Exeter  Book," 
and  is  the  life  of  St.  Guthlac,  by  Cynewulf,  who 
was  an  early  English  writer.  Born  somewhere 
between  720  and  730  at  Northumbria,  Cynewulf 
was  a  wandering  bard  by  profession.  Late  in 
life  he  suffered  a  religious  crisis,  and  devoted  his 
remaining  years  to  religious  poetry.  An  early 
work  of  his  is  a  series  of  ninety-four   Riddles. 

It  is  an  example  of  the  effects  of  Latin  influence, 
which  in  the  end  revolutionised  the  style  of  Old 
English  literature  as  a  whole.  Cynewulf  appears 
to  have  been  a  prolific  writer.  Besides  the  Riddles, 
the  "  Crist "  (dealing  with  the  three  advents  of 
Christ),  the  lives  of  St.  Juliana  and  St.  Elene,  and 
the  "  Fates  of  the  Apostles  "  are  ascribed  to  him, 
as  well  as  "  The  Descent  into  Hell,"  "  Felix," 
and  the  lives  of  St.  Andreas  and  St.  Guthlac.  A 
valuable  treasure  is  that  in  the  possession  of 
Exeter.  Many  such  precious  relics  are  to  be 
found  distributed  among  the  various  ecclesiastical 
buildings  in  England,  known  only  to  antiquarians 
and  people  with  interest  akin  to  theirs.  The 
quaint,  picturesque  old  coffee  tavern,  with  its  bow 
windows  of  square-leaded  panes,  ends  curiously  at 

[  312  ] 


EXETER 

the  top  with  a  moulded  outline  so  reminiscent  of 
many  houses  in  Belgium. 

The  tombs  are  mostly  to  the  memory  of  bishops 
who  each  in  his  own  time  maintained  the  dignity 
of  the  See.     Of  those  natives  who  came  to  the  front 
through  sheer  ability  may  be  enumerated  the  fol- 
lowing :   Josephus  Iscanus,  or  Joseph  of  Exeter,  a 
distinguished  Latin  poet  of  the  twelfth  century  ; 
his  contemporary,  Baldwin,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury ;    John   Hooker,  author  of  "  A  History  of 
Exeter  in  the  Sixteenth  Century";  Sir  Thomas  Bod- 
ley,  who  founded  the  magnificent  Bodleian  Library 
at  Oxford  ;   Matthew  Lock,  a  seventeenth-century 
musical  composer  of  note  ;  and  many  others. 

Amongst     many     notable     institutions     is     the 
Grammar  School,  which  dates  from  the  reign  of 

Henry  VIIL 

The  manufactures  are  few.  The  woollen  trade, 
at  one  time  only  surpassed  by  Leeds,  has  now 
entirely  departed  from  Exeter.  If  it  were  not  for 
its  glorious  minster  and  the  river  Exe,  up  which 
vessels  of  three  hundred  tons'  burden  can  come 
up  right  to  the  city's  quay,  Exeter  would  have 
long  ago  sunk  to  mere  insignificance. 

The  river,  which  decided  the  early  Britons  to 
settle  on  its  banks,  the  Romans  to  station  the 
Second  Legion  of  Augusta,  the  monks  to  establish 

[  313] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

their  humble  monastery,  eventually  to  be  absorbed 
into  a  see,  has  from  the  early  times  afforded  facili- 
ties for  exports  and  imports.  The  ship  canal  from 
Exeter  to  Topsham,  which  is  in  the  estuary  of  the 
Exe,  begun  in  1564,  enlarged  in  1675  and  again 
in  1827,  materially  assisted  and  rescued  commerce 
from  a  serious  decline.  Those  vessels  that  are  too 
deep  in  the  water  remain  at  Topsham,  whilst  those 
of  still  greater  tonnage  discharge  their  holds  at 
Exmouth,  a  port  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 


[3H] 


m 


Norwic. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

HEN  this  city  first  came  into  being  it  is 
puzzling  to  say.  Tlie  difficulty  is  as  to 
where  the  site  was  originally  fixed. 
Three  miles  to  the  south  of  Norwich  is  the  village 
of  Caistor  (St.  Edmunds).  Owing  to  its  position 
on  the  river  Wentsum,  or  Wensum,  it  was  called 
Csr  Gwent  bv  the  Britons,  and  for  the  like  reason 
it  was  named  by  the  Romans  Venta  Icenorum. 
It  formed  their  principal  station,  as  it  before  had 
served  as  the  residence  of  the  kings  of  the  Iceni. 
From  the  ruins  of  Venta  Icenorum  gradually  arose 
Norwich.  As  to  when  it  was  firmly  established 
on  its  present  eminence  under  the  name  of 
Nordewic,  or  North  Town,  there  seems  to  be  no 
reliable  evidence.  It  first  appears  by  that  name 
in  the  Saxon  Chronicle  of  the  year  1004.  It  may 
possibly  mean  the  town  north  of  the  old  settle- 
ment. For  one  thing  it  is  certain,  in  proportion 
as  Nordewic  rose  Caistor  sank  from  an  important 

[315] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

town  to  a  mere  village  in  ruins.  According  to  an 
authority,  an  earlier  date  is  arrived  at  than  the  entry 
in  the  Saxon  Chronicle.  He  conjectures  that  the 
keep,  the  only  remnant  of  the  castle  built  on  the 
summit  of  the  steep  mound  by  William  Rufus, 
was  the  Saxon  "  burh,"  erected  in  767.  This,  if 
correct,  would  clearly  indicate  that  Norwich  had 
already  attained  considerable  importance.  Ac- 
cording to  Spelman,  it  was  the  residence  of  the 
kings  of  East  Anglia.  i  They  established  a  mint, 
where  it  is  supposed  coins  of  Alfred  and  several 
succeeding  monarchs  were  struck.  From  its  geo- 
graphical position  Norwich  was  frequently  exposed 
to  the  attacks  of  the  Norsemen,  who  could  easily 
land  on  the  Norfolk  coast  and  cover  the  few 
intervening  miles  in  a  short  time.  The  city  was 
alternately  in  the  possession  of  the  Saxons  and  the 
Danes.  Against  the  latter  Alfred  the  Great  re- 
paired and  fortified  the  citadel,  to  whom,  however, 
he  eventually  handed  it  over  after  a  treaty  of 
peace.  The  Saxons  afterwards  regained  it  and 
held  it  till  1004,  when  it  had  to  surrender  to 
the  Danes  under  their  leader  Sweyn.  The  terrible 
weak  reign  of  Ethelred  II.  had  earned  him  the 
epithet  of  Unready.  His  indolence  caused  his 
territories  to  be  terrorised,  the  towns  to  be  racked, 
and  their  inhabitants  to  be  massacred  by  the  Danes 

[316] 


NORWICH 

under  Sweyn,  who,  under  pretext  of  avenging  the 
murder  of  his  sister,  took  the  opportunity  of 
ravaging  and  laying  waste  the  land.  On  the 
accession  of  Canute,  however,  though  a  Dane, 
the  cities  began  to  prosper  again.  Thus  it  came 
about  that  Norwich,  which  had  remained  in  a 
state  of  desolation  till  1018,  came  again  into 
Danish  possession,  but  under  Canute.  With  this 
fresh  beginning  it  rapidly  rose  to  great  importance. 
By  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  Norwich 
was  classed  as  second  only  to  York  in  extent  and 
prosperity,  being  described  in  the  "  Doomsday 
Book"  as  having  1320  burgesses  with  their  fam- 
ilies, 25  parish  churches,  and  covering  an  area  of 
not  far  short  of  1000  acres.  It  was  bestowed  by 
the  Conqueror  on  Ralph  de  Guaer,  or  Guader, 
in  1075,  who  rewarded  his  master's  kindness  by 
joining  a  conspiracy  formed  by  the  Earls  of  Here- 
ford and  Northumberland  against  the  Crown. 
After  having  unsuccessfully  defended  the  Castle, 
he  retired  into  Brittany,  leaving  his  wife  to  sustain 
the  siege.  The  city  was  very  much  damaged, 
and  the  number  of  burgesses  woefully  reduced 
in  numbers,  some  560  only  being  left  on  the 
capitulation  to  the  Conqueror.  In  view  of  the 
gallant  defence  by  Guader's  wife  and  garrison 
of  Britons,  William  granted  them  all  the  honours 

[317] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

of  war  and  permission  to  leave  the  kingdom  in 
perfect  security.  This  siege  was  a  great  check 
to  the  advancement  of  the  city.  At  the  same 
time  the  value  of  the  property  must  have  been 
considerably  lessened.  This  depreciation  after  the 
drawing  up  of  the  "Doomsday  Book"  in  1086 
could  hardly  have  suited  the  views  of  the  Con- 
queror. To  obviate  the  difficulty  it  would  be 
necessary  to  introduce  some  new  element,  some 
attraction  that  would  bring  added  interest  and 
fresh  residents  willing  to  ply  their  industries  in 
the  town.  The  commencement  of  a  new  period 
of  prosperity  was  soon  realised  after  the  establish- 
ment of  a  see  at  Norwich,  though  not  until  the 
time  of  William  Rufus.  One  of  his  followers 
from  Normandy  was  Herbert  de  Lozinga,  or 
Lorraine,  who  having  been  made  Bishop  of  East 
Anglia,  decided  to  remove  the  See  from  Thetford 
to  Norwich.  In  addition  to  the  Cathedral,  he 
established  an  episcopal  palace  and  a  monastery 
to  maintain  sixty  monks,  all  in  the  year  1094. 
It  had  the  desired  effect ;  the  city  rapidly  im- 
proved, the  number  of  inhabitants  greatly  increased, 
and  trade  extended.  In  the  reign  of  Stephen  it  was 
rebuilt.  In  11  22  Henry  I.  granted  Norwich  the 
same  franchise  as  that  enjoyed  in  London,  incorpo- 
rated in  a  charter.     The  government  of  the  city 

[3^8] 


NORWICH 

was  at  the  same  time  separated  from  that  of  the 
Castle,  and  entrusted  to  the  chief  magistrate,  or 
PriEpositus  (provost),  as  he  was  styled.  Another 
factor  in  the  city's  welfare  was  the  colony  of 
Flemish  weavers  who  settled  at  Worstead,  about 
thirteen  miles  from  Norwich.  They  introduced 
the  manufacture  of  woollen  stuffs.  A  second 
colony,  however,  came  in  Edward  III.'s  time  and 
settled  right  in  Norwich,  when  it  was  made  a 
staple  town  for  the  counties  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk. 
The  citizens,  in  the  reign  of  John,  suffered  con- 
siderable loss  from  the  depredations  of  the  Dauphin, 
who  had  been  invited  from  France  to  assist  the 
barons.  In  1272  a  riot  between  the  monks  and 
the  citizens  caused  the  burning  of  the  priory.  The 
terrible  plague,  called  the  black  death,  that  occurred 
between  1348  and  1349,  destroyed  two-thirds  of 
the  population.  The  city  no  sooner  was  beginning 
to  recover  from  this  terrible  visitation  than  one 
of  its  residents,  John  Listher,  a  dyer  by  profession, 
incited  an  insurrection  called  the  Norfolk  Levellers. 
They  managed  in  i  381  to  do  much  damage  before 
the  rebellion  was  quelled  by  the  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
who  defeated  Listher  and  had  him  executed.  From 
Henry  IV.  the  citizens  received  permission  to  be 
governed  by  a  mayor  and  sheriffs  in  1403,  and 
Norwich  was  made  a  county  of  itself.  But  in 
"  [  321  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

spite  of  it  all  the  city  severely  suffered:  what  with 
the  continued  dissension  between  the  monks  and 
the  citizens,  when  the  monastic  buildings  were 
burnt  down,  and  the  tumults  by  tradesmen  all  too 
ready  to  lay  aside  their  tools  and  follow  some  hare- 
brained leader  with  a  grievance,  and  later  on,  after 
the  peaceful  period  of  Elizabeth,  the  Civil  War. 
The  most  notable  insurrection  was  that  conducted 
under  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  by  a  tanner,  Robert 
Kett,  and  his  brother  William.  Under  the  pretence 
of  resisting  the  "enclosure  of  waste  lands,"  they 
contrived  to  excite  a  most  formidable  rising.  They 
seized  upon  the  palace  of  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  and, 
converting  it  into  a  prison,  confined  many  of  the 
aristocracy.  They  then  encamped  upon  Mouse- 
hold  Heath,  where  eventually  they  were  routed  by 
the  army  under  the  Earl  of  Warwick  in  1549. 
The  two  brothers  were  taken  prisoners,  Robert 
being  hanged  on  Norwich  Castle,  and  William 
suffering  a  like  penalty  on  the  steeple  of  Wymond- 
ham  church,  the  parish  from  which  they  had  both 
come.  During  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  a  large  body 
of  Dutch  and  Walloons  settled  in  Norwich,  and 
introduced  among  many  other  articles  the  manu- 
facture of  bombazine,  for  which  the  city  soon 
became  noted.  These  refugees  were  Protestants, 
who  had  sought  an  asylum  in  England  to  escape 

[322] 


NORWICH 

the  persecution  of  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  though 
many  Roman  Catholics  and  even  some  of  the 
Protestants  were  unwilling  martyrs  to  the  stake 
at  Norwich  during  this  same  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
the  city  no  doubt  appeared  to  these  exiles  to  offer  a 
better  chance  of  life  than  that  in  the  Netherlands. 
By  the  year  1582  their  numbers  had  increased  to 
five  thousand.  The  Queen,  who  had  encouraged 
and  protected  these  emigrants,  thus  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  pros- 
perity of  the  town,  as  she  had  done  elsewhere,  and 
on  her  visit  to  Norwich  was  sumptuously  feted. 
But  the  Civil  War  in  Charles  I.'s  reign  did  much 
to  upset  trade  in  Norwich.  It  was  held  by  the 
Parliamentarians,  who  seem  to  have  got  out  of 
control.  The  Cathedral  was  barbarously  defaced, 
all  its  plate  and  ornaments  looted,  and  the  Bishop's 
Palace  greatly  damaged.  The  Castle,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  strongly  fortified  for  Cromwell.  After 
the  Restoration,  Norwich  was  one  of  the  first 
to  swear  allegiance  to  Charles  II.,  who  with 
his  consort  paid  it  a  visit.  He  went  away  richer 
than  he  came,  the  city  having  assigned  its  fee- 
farm  to  him,  with  the  presentation  of  £  1 000 
sterling  besides.  Since  then  the  citizens  have 
been  content  to  lead  a  quiet  life,  and  carry  on  such 
manufactures   as   ironworks,   mustard,  starch,  and 

[323] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

brewing   of  ale,  though  the  textile  manufacture, 
once    important,    has    now    declined.       Printing, 
which  was  introduced  here  in    1570,  but  discon- 
tinued for  several  years,  was  revived  in  1 701,  when 
newspapers   began    to   be  printed   and    circulated. 
Though,  as  we  have  seen,  the  monks  and  citizens 
often  did  not  agree,  yet  we  must  not  forget  that 
it  was  mainly  owing  to  the  establishment  of  the 
See  that  prosperity  came  to  Norwich.      The  pres- 
ence of  the    Cathedral    immediately  rescued   the 
city  from   oblivion,  and,  more,  it  raised  it  above 
the  commonplace.      All  credit  must  be   awarded 
to  Herbert  de  Lozinga.     For  some  reason  or  other 
he  was  dissatisfied  with  Thetford,  which  was  then 
the  seat  of  the  Diocese,  and  determined  to  transfer  it 
elsewhere.     For  this  purpose  in  1094  he  purchased 
a  large  plot  of  ground  near  the   Castle  and  soon 
commenced  the  building  of  a  magnificent  cathedral. 
It  wajj  purely  Norman.     Though  it  has  undergone 
many    alterations,     additions,     and      restorations, 
Lozinga's   plan   is   still    in    great    evidence,  much 
more  so  than  many  other  examples   of  Norrnan 
work  in  England.     With  the  establishment  of  a 
Benedictine  monastery,  Lozinga  brought  his  work 
to  a  close,  and  dedicated  it  to  Holy  Trinity  in  i  loi. 
As  presented  to  us  now,  it  is  a  spacious  cruciform 
structure,  with  a  highly  finished  and  ornamental 

[  324] 


NORWICH 

THE   ^THELBERT    GATE 


NORWICH 

Norman    tower    rising    from    the    centre.      This 
again  is  surmounted  by  an  elegant  octagonal  spire 
of  the  Later  Decorated  style,  and  crocketed  at  the 
angles.     The  spire  is   315  feet,  and  its  height  is 
exceeded   in   England   only  by  that  at  Salisbury. 
The  west  front  is  of  Norman  character,  with   a 
central  entrance,  over  which  was  placed  a  large 
window  in  the  Later  English   style.     The  nave, 
remarkable  for  its  elaborate  328  bosses,  was  stone- 
vaulted  in  the  fifteenth  century.     The  vaulting  of 
the  transepts  and  the  chantry  of  Bishop  Nix  dates 
from  the  sixteenth  century.      The  choir  is  richly 
ornamented  with  excellent  design  in  tracery  work 
of  the  Later  English  style,  whilst  the  east  end  has 
several  circular  chapels.     The  Lady  Chapel,  which 
was  early  English,  was  unfortunately  demolished 
about   1580.     The  cloisters  are  very  fine.     They 
are  12  feet  wide,  and  cover  an  area  of  175  square 
feet,  with  45  windows  inserted.     They  were  com- 
menced in  I  297  and  completed  in  1430.     Though 
mainly  composed  of   the  Decorated  period,  they 
range   in   character   from  the  early  years  of  that 
style    down    to    the    Later    English    style.      The 
Cathedral,  in    common    with    the    city,  suffered 
severely.     At  one  time  it  was  very  much  destroyed 
by  fire.     The   dome   was   repaired  soon   after  by 
John   of   Oxford,    who    was    the    fourth    bishop. 

[327] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Besides  this  it  received  repeated  assaults  arising 
from  the  numerous  disagreements  between  the 
monks  and  the  citizens.  It  is  always  marvellous 
to  think  how  such  great  works  of  art  have  come 
down  to  the  present  day  exhibiting,  in  spite  of  fires. 
Commonwealth  defacements,  repairs  and  alterations, 
so  much  evidence  of  the  skill  of  those  great  masters 
of  mediaeval  architecture.  The  Chapter  House, 
usually  a  great  feature  of  the  cathedral,  is  missing 
at  Norwich,  though  it  once  existed.  There  are  two 
monumental  effigies,  one  to  Bishop  Goldwell  about 
1499,  and  the  other  to  Bishop  Bathurst  in  1837, 
the  work  of  Chantrey.  Of  the  mural  monuments 
there  is  one  to  Sir  William  Boleyn.  He  was  the 
great-grandfather  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  His  re- 
mains were  interred  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Presbytery,  in  the  midst  of  which  once  stood  the 
tomb  of  Herbert  de  Lozinga,  the  founder.  **  Best 
viewed  from  the  east,"  wrote  George  Borrow  in 
"The  Lavengro"  in  a  description  of  Norwich 
Cathedral.  Perhaps  the  advice  of  this  extraordi- 
nary man  is  the  best  one  to  follow.  Born  at  East 
Dereham,  Norfolk,  in  1803,  of  Cornish  descent, 
educated  at  Norwich  Grammar  School,  which  he 
supplemented  with  the  study  of  some  twenty  lan- 
guages, he  passed  an  adventurous  and  varied  career 
from  running  away  from  Norwich  to  be  a  footpad 

[328] 


NORWICH 

to  travelling  partly  with  gypsies  over  Europe  and 
Asia,  the  latter  part  being  supposed  to  account  for 
his  disappearance  —  the  veiled  period  he  called  it, 
lasting  from  1826  to  1833.  In  subsequent  years 
he  found  time  between  his  restless  wanderings  to 
write  "The  Gypsies  in  Spain"  (1841),  "The 
Bible  in  Spain"  (1843),  ^^^  much  delayed  auto- 
biography, appearing  in  1851,  and  "  The  Romany 
Rye  "  in  1857.  After  another  long  disappearance, 
when  it  was  believed  he  was  dead,  he  came  to  life 
again  by  publishing  his  "  Romano  Lavo-Lil " 
(Gypsy  Word-Book)  in  1874.  From  this  year  till 
his  death  in  1881  the  famous  philologist,  traveller, 
and  author  spent  most  of  his  time  in  lodgings  in 
Norwich,  where  he  became  a  familiar  figure.  The 
lives  of  many  men  can  lay  a  better  claim  to  be 
recognised  by  Norwich  than  Borrow,  through 
virtue  of  their  birthright.  In  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury William  Bateman,  one  time  Bishop  of  Nor- 
wich, founded  the  great  college  of  Trinity  Hall  at 
Cambridge.  His  great  example  was  followed  by 
another  native  of  Norwich,  Dr.  Kaye  or  Caius, 
who  established  the  beautiful  college  of  Gonville 
and  Caius  at  the  same  university.  Matthew 
Parker,  second  Protestant  Archishop  of  Canter- 
bury, as  chaplain  attended  Queen  Anne  Boleyn  to 
the  scaffold ;  Robert  Green  became  a  popular  writer 

[329] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  In  1734  Edward  King 
was  born  here.  He  gained  much  recognition  as 
author  of  a  work  on  ancient  architecture  entitled 
"  Munimenta  Antiqua,"  and  for  his  many  anti- 
quarian researches  was  admitted  Fellow  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries.  The  Reverend  William 
Beloe  acquired  a  reputation  by  his  translation  of 
Herodotus,  though  possibly  only  known  to  classical 
scholars.  The  Linnasan  Society  owes  its  inception 
to  Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  M.  D.,  whose  first 
president  he  became.  This  distinguished  native 
of  Norwich  was  also  the  author  of  the  "Flora 
Britannica." 

The  beautiful  gate  of  Erpingham,  which  was 
erected  in  1420  and  faces  the  west  end  of  the 
Cathedral,  recalls  the  munificence  of  Sir  Thomas 
Erpingham,  by  whom  it  was  built.  He  greatly 
distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt, 
and  was  eventually  interred  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Norwich,  the  town  of  his  residence,  though  not  of 
his  birth.  Another  resident  was  Sir  John  Fastof, 
who  lived  fighting  as  a  renowned  warrior  for 
Henry  IV.,  V.,  and  VI.  in  their  wars  in  France. 

From  the  old  Grammar  School  came,  besides 
Borrow,  Sir  Edward  Coke,  who  was  born  in 
Norfolk.  When  only  forty  years  of  age  he  became 
Attorney-General,    and    lived    in     the     reign     of 

[330] 


NORWICH 

FROM     THE     NORTHEAST 


NORWICH 

Elizabeth,  always  at  strife  with  his  dangerous  and 
brilliant  legal  rival,  Francis  Bacon.  Coke,  by  his 
opposition  to  the  royal  prerogative  of  raising 
money  on  the  validity  of  the  Court  of  High 
Commission,  and  in  taking  a  considerable  share 
in  the  drawing  up  of  the  Petition  of  Right,  and 
in  the  debates  upon  the  conduct  of  Buckingham, 
earned  the  dislike  of  James  I.  Though  treading 
on  dangerous  ground.  Coke  nevertheless  received 
active  employment,  and  appears  to  have  got  on 
quite  well  in  spite  of  royal  displeasure. 

Two  other  scholars  were  Brooke  and  Lord 
Nelson.  Brooke  entered  the  East  India  Com- 
pany's army  in  1819  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  In  his 
remarkable  career  he  assisted  the  Sultan  of  Brunti 
to  reduce  the  marauding  Dyak  tribes  of  Sarawak, 
and  with  such  success  that  the  Sultan  created  hirn 
rajah  of  the  province  of  Sarawak  in  1841. 

A  famous  school  of  landscape  painting  was  that 
at  Norwich.  It  flourished  in  the  first  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  principal  artists  of  which 
were  Crome,  —  who  by  the  way  was  a  native  of 
Norwich,  —  Cotman,  Vincent,  and  Stark. 

Of  recent  years  the  Cathedral  has  undergone 
extensive  restoration,  namely,  in  1892  and  1900. 

Before  closing  this  account  we  think  it  would 
be  of  interest  to  outline  the  causes  that  embittered 

[333] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  existence  of  the  Jews  and  led  to  their  persecu- 
tion through  the  disappearance  of  a  Christian  boy 
in  1 144  from  Norwich. 

We  have  had  occasion,  under  Lincoln,  to 
mention  the  attitude  adopted  by  the  citizens 
towards  the  Jews.  If  anything,  the  feeHng  was 
more  intense  at  Norwich.  It  is  uncertain  when 
they  first  resided  in  England,  though  it  is  supposed 
they  visited  before  the  Conquest  for  purposes  of 
the  slave  trade,  of  which  they  held  a  monopoly. 
The  position  of  the  Jews  in  a  Christian  State 
entirely  depended  upon  the  attitude  of  the  Church, 
whose  stringent  measures  effectually  precluded  any 
Semitic  from  the  exercise  of  any  public  office 
unless  the  reception  was  confirmed  by  oaths 
of  a  Christian  character.  As  this  clause  was 
foreign  to  the  tenets  of  the  Hebrew  religion, 
and  as  the  Church  regarded  the  means  of  loans 
lent  out  on  interest  as  prohibited  by  the  Gos- 
pel, and  as  a  disreputable  calling  and  unworthy 
of  a  Christian,  usury  became  the  only  means  of 
subsistence  to  the  Jew  in  England.  They  were 
not  affected  by  the  views  of  the  Church,  and  soon 
made  themselves  felt.  As,  however,  capital  was 
needed  for  the  building  of  monasteries,  abbeys, 
and  cathedrals  by  the  Church,  and  the  kings  of 
England,  especially  John   and   Henry   III.,  found 

[334] 


NORWICH 

it  convenient  to  extort  tallage,  the  Jews  were 
tolerated.  The  rate  of  interest  demanded  for 
what  was  in  the  first  place  a  trifling  loan  in  a  few 
years  increased  to  a  formidable  debt.  The  means 
adopted  by  the  Christian  Church  and  kings  of  the 
middle  ages  to  free  themselves  from  this  bondage 
in  no  way  reflect  any  honour.  The  custom  appears 
to  have  been  for  the  king  to  seize  the  whole  of 
the  estate,  both  treasure  and  debts,  of  the  Jew  on 
his  demise,  though  there  may  have  been  sons  to 
inherit.  Another  was  to  burn  the  proofs  of  in- 
debtedness after  having  slain  the  creditors,  as  the 
attack  against  the  Jews  organised  by  a  set  of  nobles, 
who  were  deep  in  their  debt,  is  recorded  to  have 
taken  place  at  York.  For  the  Jew  being  a  usurer, 
the  estate  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  King,  who 
might  be  influenced  to  cancel  the  debt  for  a  much 
smaller  amount.  We  cannot  then  wonder  that  the 
lower  classes  followed  in  the  steps  of  their  superiors. 
But  above  all,  in  the  twelfth  century  the  Church 
encouraged  the  circulation  of  a  suspicion  that  the 
Jews  sacrificed  Christian  children  in  their  Passover. 
However,  the  suspicion  or  "  blood  accusation,"  as 
it  was  called,  first  took  root  with  a  case  in  which 
a  boy  of  the  name  of  William  disappeared  at 
Norwich.  This  terrible  accusation  against  the 
Jews  has  since  been  proved  to  have  been  founded 

[3i5] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

on  the  shallowest  pretexts,  but  at  the  time  the 
myth  was  nevertheless  encouraged  by  the  clergy, 
since  it  attracted  vast  numbers  of  pilgrims  to  any 
cathedral  or  church  which  might  contain  the 
martyred  remains  of  these  boy-saints.  The  example 
of  Norwich  was  followed  in  the  same  century  by 
one  at  Gloucester  and  Edmondsbury,  whilst  in  the 
following  century  the  supposed  martyrdom  of 
Hugh  of  Lincoln  served  only  to  increase  and 
confirm  the  popular  belief.  Hence  the  intense 
ill-feeling  between  the  Christian  and  the  Jew. 


[  336  1 


St.  Paul's. 
Si  quaeris  monumentum,  circumspice. 

^v^^  O  epitaph  more  noble  and  impressive  can 
I  M  have  possibly  been  conceived  than  the 
g<l  '\§  simple  Latin  inscription  placed  upon  the 
modest  tomb  of  Christopher  Wren  :  "  If  ye  seek  / 
my  monument,  look  around."  When  building  this 
magnificent  structure,  the  great  architect  was  pre- 
paring a  glorious  sepulchre  to  receive  his  remains. 
Some  thirty-five  years  it  took  Wren  to  realise  this 
great  achievement  —  an  achievement  the  more  as- 
tounding when  we  learn  that  he  was  actively 
engaged  throughout  the  whole  time  in  the  plan- 
ning and  personal  superintendence  of  some  thirty  ' 
churches  in  London,  no  two  of  which  are  alike. 
Daily  he  walked  around  jotting  down  a  sketch  of 
the  next  detail  to  be  worked  upon,  deciding,  as  the 
work  progressed,  and  maturing  his  plans,  throwing 
out  one  day  a  course,  another  day  realising  an  idea 
that  had  just  occurred  to  him.  Thus  the  fabric 
rose  higher  day  by  day,  month  by  month,  year  by 

[  337  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

year.  He  adhered  to  no  carefully  prepared  plans ; 
he  entrusted  nothing  to  his  subordinates ;  he 
hugged  the  entire  responsibility.  They  did  not 
know  what  phase  of  work  the  morrow  would 
bring.  On  the  day  each  workman  would  receive 
a  rough  section  and  plan  jotted  down  on  the  spot, 
accompanied  with  verbal  instructions.  If,  even 
when  finished  according  to  his  directions.  Wren 
was  dissatisfied  with  this  gem  of  his  brain,  down  it 
had  to  come,  to  be  substituted  by  some  other  im- 
proved idea.  Of  course  Wren  had  in  the  first 
place  to  submit  plans  for  the  proposed  cathedral. 
It  is  not  likely  that  any  committee  would  engage 
in  anything  so  important  blindfolded.  But  these 
plans  only  formed  the  shell  on  which  to  peg  any 
new  suggestions  that  might  crop  up  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  work,  very  much  after  the  fashion 
of  a  plastic  sketch  submitted  by  the  sculptor  to  a 
committee,  who  look  wise  and  generally  make 
foolish  comments.  The  sketch  is  merely  an  indi- 
cation of  what  is  to  come  after,  and  is  intended  as 
some  guarantee.  Without  this  no  conscientious 
committee  would  commit  themselves  to  any  agree- 
ment. They  control  the  expenditure  of  the  public 
subscriptions.  If  the  finished  work  does  not  come 
up  to  the  promised  standard  of  excellence,  the 
committee  can  fall  back  upon  the  sketch  and  get 

[338] 


LONDON 

exonerated  of  all  culpable  blame.  The  artist  gets 
the  abuse  for  the  failure  or  departure  from  the 
original.  When  such  necessarily  rough  sketches 
are  faithfully  carried  out,  they  often  are  failures ; 
for  what  look  well  in  a  rough  sketch  often 
become  serious  blemishes  in  the  completed  work. 
The  true  artist  is  never  satisfied  —  that  is,  that  ex- 
traordinary being  who  has  a  greater  love  for  art  than 
for  mere  coin  —  and  will  alter  and  improve  upon 
his  original  design  at  every  suggestion  (and  they 
crowd  thick  upon  him)  that  makes  itself  manifest, 
with  a  total  disregard  to  his  own  pocket  and  that 
punctuality  so  essential  to  the  successful  city  man. 
He  has  got  his  ideal,  and  he  is  determined  to  reach 
it  if  he  has  to  go  through  a  brick  wall. 

Very  much  in  the  same  way,  we  may  be  sure. 
Wren  was  actuated.  His  pay  was  no  inducement. 
He  received  only  ;^200  a  year  throughout  the  i 
whole  time  of  building,  and  then  at  one  time  a 
certain  portion  of  this  miserable  pittance  was  with- 
held by  order  of  Parliament,  because  his  detractors 
accused  him  of  delaying  the  final  completion  of 
the  work  from  corrupt  motives.  Wren's  clerk  of 
the  works,  by  name  Nicholas  Hawksmoor,  who 
afterwards  became  famous  as  the  builder  of  several 
London  churches,  was  paid  only  twenty  pence  a 
day.     Tijou,  his  ironworker,  and    Grinling  Gib- 

[339  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

bons,  the  famous  carver  in  wood,  were  all  actuated 
by  the  same  ideal  when  they  helped  to  give  ex- 
pression to  their  master's  genius.  However,  in 
one  or  two  particulars,  which  will  be  mentioned 
later  on,  Wren's  superior  judgment  was  overruled 
by  his  committee.  Much  to  his  intense  and  last- 
ing mortification  they  carried  the  day  and  stamped 
themselves  as  incompetent  judges.  This  process 
of  realisation,  this  seeking  after  an  ideal,  sometimes 
led  Wren  into  strange  architectural  difficulties,  only 
to  be  overcome  in  a  masterly  way.  By  discover- 
ing these  little  inconsistencies,  the  architect's  skil- 
fulness  in  taking  advantage  of  accidents,  in  turning 
what  appeared  an  irremediable  blunder  into  a  great 
success,  shows  what  a  complete  understanding  he 
had  in  that  great  branch  of  art  —  af chitecture  — 
and  endorses  more  than  ever  the  great  position  he 
will  always  be  accorded. 

An  example  will  serve  to  illustrate  his  ingenuity. 

How  many  people,  when  climbing  up  the  stairs 
that  lead  to  the  whispering  gallery  and  elsewhere, 
have  ever  noticed  any  peculiarity  about  them  ? 
Yet  there  is  one.  When  first  they  were  being 
built  each  step  was  meant  to  be  of  the  same  height, 
but  as  they  mounted  higher.  Wren  suddenly  dis- 
covered that  the  top  one  would  be  an  ugly  tall  one 
to  ascend.     To  avoid  this  meant  one  of  two  things, 

[  340] 


LONDON 

either  to  demolish  what  had  already  been  com- 
pleted and  start  afresh,  or  to  turn  this  accident  to 
good  account.  The  latter  alternative  was  chosen. 
By  gradually  reducing  the  height  of  the  remaining 
steps,  he  contrived  to  overcome  the  difficulty  so 
successfully  that  he  has  tricked  the  eye  and  foot,  so 
slight  is  the  difference  of  each  tread.  They  appear 
to  be  equidistant  as  the  ones  lower  down,  and  the 
illusion  can  only  be  dispelled  by  measurement. 

If  any  one  is  observant  on  reaching  the  top  of 
Ludgate  Hill,  one  peculiarity  of  the  great  building 
will  strike  him.  It  is  that  the  great  west  facade 
does  not  squarely  face  Ludgate  Hill,  but  bears  con- 
siderably to  the  right.  In  fact  its  axis  does  not 
run  due  east  and  west. 

On  the  advancement  of  Wren  to  be  principal 
architect,  he  was  not  only  commissioned  to  erect 
the  Cathedral,  but  was  to  rebuild  the  city.  His 
scheme  was  very  thorough.  It  comprised  the 
widening  of  the  streets;  the  complete  insulation 
of  all  important  churches ;  the  public  buildings 
were  to  have  good  frontages  ;  and  the  halls  of  the 
City  Guilds  were  to  form  a  quadrangle  around  the 
Guildhall.  To  carry  these  improvements  into 
effect.  Government  issued  orders  that  none  except 
Wren's  rebuilding  would  be  recognised.  Unfortu- 
nately much  valuable  time  was  wasted  in  an  attempt 

[341] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

at  the  restoration  of  the  old  cathedral,  insisted  upon 
by  the  committee,  against  Wren's  wishes,  and  it 
was  only  when  a  portion  of  the  nave  fell  down  that 
Dean  Bancroft  was  able  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the 
committee  to  raze  the  old  walls  to  the  ground  and 
to  allow  Wren  to  build  from  the  very  foundations. 
The  delay  of  this  decision  had  in  the  meanwhile 
given  opportunity  to  individuals  to  erect  buildings 
much  as  they  pleased  upon  their  own  properties  in 
spite  of  Government  prohibition,  with  the  result 
that  to  a  great  extent  streets  and  boundaries,  which 
existed  before  the  Great  Fire,  were  reproduced. 
It  also  caused  the  loss  of  a  far  more  spacious 
frontage  than  now  exists,  which  we  may  be  sure 
formed  an  important  item  in  Wren's  design  for  the 
Cathedral.  The  architect,  however,  by  receding 
the  west  front  from  the  old  site  now  occupied  by 
the  statue  of  Queen  Ann,  has  cleverly  spaced  out 
a  noble  frontage.  Another  consideration  that  de- 
termined Wren  to  alter  the  axis  of  the  Cathedral 
was  his  great  aversion  to  utilising  the  old  founda- 
tions. His  great  ambition  was  to  strike  out  for 
himself  and  to  be  dependent  on  no  one  else's  work. 
In  order  to  realise  this  he  laid  the  axis  of  the  new 
work  to  a  point  farther  north  of  that  of  the  old 
cathedral,  and  the  plan  by  this  projection  has  in  a 
marvellous  way  covered  practically  the  same  ground, 

[342] 


LONDON 

whilst  at  the  same  time  Wren  managed  to  secure 
fresh  ground  for  his  foundations  almost  throughout 
the  whole  church.  The  plan  of  St.  Paul's  is  a 
Latin  cross,  and  is  based  upon  classical  lines.  The 
principal  front,  the  west,  is  composed  of  a  double 
portico  of  Corinthian  fluted  pillars,  with  two  flights 
of  steps  leading  down  to  the  road-level.  In  fact 
the  entire  body  of  the  ground  floor  is  above  the 
elevation  of  the  street.  Overhead  is  a  large  pedi- 
ment, with  its  panel  sculptured  in  high  relief.  On 
either  side  the  west  front  is  flanked  by  a  campanile 
tower,  composed  at  the  summit  of  grouped  circular 
pillars.  Just  inside,  on  the  left,  is  the  Morning 
Chapel,  whilst  straight  on  the  opposite  side  lies 
the  Chapel  of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael  and  St. 
George.  Proceeding  eastwards,  the  nave  is  flanked 
by  three  massive  and  imposing  arches.  Then 
comes  the  dome  or  cupola,  rising  to  a  height  of 
365  feet,  or  404  feet  to  the  top  of  the  cross. 
Viewed  from  the  interior  the  inner  dome  is  225 
feet,  and  rests  at  the  intersection  of  the  cross.  The 
transepts  are  carried  one  arch  to  the  north  and 
one  to  the  south,  each  of  which  are  bound  by 
semi-circular  rows  of  Corinthian  pillars. 

Continuing  again  towards  the  east,  a  couple  of 
steps  mark  the  commencement  of  the  choir  leading 
from  the  dome,  and  is  carried  forward  by  three 

[  343  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

•  ches  on  either  side.  Behind  the  altar  the  colossal 
building  terminates  in  the  apsidal  Chapel  of  Jesus. 
Throughout  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  the 
building  is  the  crypt  below.  There  under  the 
choir,  the  nearest  to  the  south  wall  in  the  crypt 
chapel,  is  the  modest  slab  that  covers  the  remains 
of  the  great  architect  of  the  grand  edifice.  Next 
to  him  lies  the  body  of  Lord  Leighton,  the  greatest 
president  the  Royal  Academy  has  ever  had.  Just 
in  the  one  corner  are  buried  some  of  the  most 
eminent  of  England's  painters,  sculptors,  and 
musicians.  Those  more  generally  known  are  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  the  first  president  of  the  Royal 
Academy ;  Benjamin  West,  who  succeeded  him  in 
office ;  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  who  next  filled  it, 
and  Sir  John  Millais,  who  held  the  dignity  only 
a  few  months  after  Leighton's  death.  The  remains 
of  J.  M.  W.  Turner,  James  Barry,  John  Foley,  Sir 
Edwin  Landseer,  and  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan,  musician, 
who  are  also  some  of  the  many  great  builders 
of  art,  have  all  been  accorded  a  little  plot  of 
ground  close  to  their  very  great  brother-artist  and 
predecessor.  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  In  the  centre 
of  the  crypt,  or  rather  right  underneath  the  dome, 
is  a  noble  mausoleum  containing  the  body  of 
England's  greatest  admiral.  Viscount  Horatio 
Nelson,  whilst  just  close  to  him  between  the  crypt 

[344] 


LONDON 

chapel  and  the  dome  is  the  massive  sarcophagus  of 
granite,  encased  in  which  is  the  body  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington.  The  monument  of  this  hero  of 
Waterloo  is  the  chief  feature  of  the  plastic  art  that 
attracts  the  visitor  on  looking  up  the  nave.  It  is 
the  great  artistic  expression  of  Stevens,  the  sculptor, 
and  dwarfs  all  other  monuments  in  its  immediate 
neighbourhood.  We  would  like  to  enumerate  the 
names  of  all  the  great  men  that  lie  in  the  mighty 
shadow  of  St.  Paul's,  and  pay  some  tribute  to  the 
many  artists  who  have,  through  their  monuments, 
endeavoured  their  best  to  honour  the  memories 
of  those  who  have  so  worthily  upheld  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  great  empire ;  but  any  such  attempt 
we  feel  we  must  relinquish,  and  devote  all  the 
space  we  can  to  Wren's  work  and  to  that  of  his 
predecessors. 

The  wonderful  wood-carving  of  the  choir  stall, 
and  especially  the  remarkable  realistic  floral  designs 
of  the  Bishop's  throne,  were  executed  by  Grinling 
Gibbons,  who  lived  between  1648  and  1720.  He 
was  born  at  Rotterdam,  and  as  a  youth  came  over 
to  England,  and  was  discovered  by  Evelyn,  the 
diarist.  So  astonished  was  Evelyn  by  the  genius 
of  Gibbons,  who  had  just  carved  in  wood  a  copy  of 
Tintoretto's  "  Crucifixion,"  that  he  introduced  him 
to  Wren,  Pepys,  and  the  King.    With  such  power- 

I  345  J 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ful  friends  and  his  marvellous  talent  he  soon  became 
the  most  famous  carver  of  his  age.  In  viewing 
the  great  edifice  one  cannot  help  thinking  from 
whence  came  the  money  which  enabled  Wren  to 
carry  on  the  work.  With  the  exception  of 
the  Tillingham  farm  there  were  no  endowments, 
and  people  were,  after  the  fire,  far  from  being 
generous  donors.  As  funds  were  absolutely  neces- 
sary, royal  warrants  were  issued  to  authorise  the 
building  committee  to  borrow  on  the  security  of 
the  coal  and  wine  taxes.  As  the  remuneration  of 
Wren,  Grinling  Gibbons,  and  Tijou  was  nothing  to 
speak  of,  we  may  take  it  that  practically  the  whole 
of  the  proceeds  was  sunk  in  the  materials  and  the 
workmen's  wages. 

Throughout  the  whole  time  of  building  Wren 
was  harassed  by  petty  annoyances  on  the  part  of  the 
committee,  who  interfered  in  small  matters  of 
technical  and  artistic  knowledge  which  lay  quite 
beyond  their  province.  Against  the  architect's  will 
they  insisted  upon  the  erection  of  the  heavy  iron 
railings  which  fence  in  the  Cathedral  and  mar  the 
beautiful  gradations  of  lines  from  the  lowest  step 
of  the  transept  entrances  to  the  summit  of  the 
dome's  cross.  This  only  serves  as  one  of  many 
such  instances.  Finally,  Wren's  persecutors  went 
so  far  as  to  suspend  his  patent  in  the  year   171  8, 

[  346  ] 


LONDON 

being  the  forty-ninth  of  his  office  and  the  eighty-     \ 
sixth  of  his  age,  and  William  Benson  was  appointed 
to  succeed  him. 

This  abrupt  dismissal  entirely  upset  any  plan  of 
internal  decoration  which  Wren  might  have  been 
thinking  of,  though  it  is  supposed  he  had  proposed 
to  enrich  and  beautify  St.  Paul's  with  a  scheme  of 
colour  composed  of  marble  and  mosaic  work  with 
gold  and  paintings.  With  the  exception  of  the 
frescoes  in  the  dome  by  Sir  James  Thornhill, 
nothing  of  importance  was  done  for  fifty  years 
after  Wren's  death.  A  proposal  to  contribute  a 
number  of  paintings  from  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds 
and  the  members  of  the  Royal  Academy  was  nega- 
tived by  Dr.  Terrick,  who  was  Bishop  of  London 
at  that  time.  In  1891  W.  B.  Richmond,  A. R. A., 
was  commissioned  to  decorate  the  choir  and  the 
dome  with  mosaic  work,  it  being  considered  the 
most  suitable  material  on  account  of  the  brilliancy 
of  its  surface,  and  the  easiest  to  clean  without  risk 
of  injury  to  the  work.  Sir  William  Richmond, 
K.C.B.  (as  he  has  since  been  created),  decided  to 
depart  from  modern  methods  in  favour  of  the 
ancient  way  of  embedding  in  cement  cubes,  so 
chosen  and  disposed  to  suit  the  various  shades  of 
his  subjects.  They  represent  various  incidents 
taken  from   the    Bible,   treated  most  skilfully,  as 

[347] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

one  would  naturally  expect  from  such  a  talented 
artist. 

The  difficulties  of  such  an  undertaking,  restricted 
within  certain  limits  as  it  must  be  by  the  nature 
of  the  material,  together  with  the  many  attendant 
side-issues  of  which  the  outside  public  have  not 
the  faintest  idea,  can  only  be  known  to  the  artist 
himself,  and  perhaps  to  some  of  his  confreres. 

In  course  of  erection  is  the  gilt  iron  balustrade 
upon  the  cornice  that  runs  round  the  church  in 
continuation  of  that  commenced  by  Wren  at  the 
west  end.  This  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  Somers  Clarke. 
He  has  also  designed  the  fittings  for  the  installation 
of  the  electric  light,  which  is  the  generous  presen- 
tation of  Mr.  Pierpont  Morgan. 

In  conclusion,  we  cannot  help  recalling  the 
incident  that  cheered  the  closing  years  of  Wren. 
Once  every  year  the  aged  artist  came  from  his 
retirement  at  Hampton  Court  to  London,  to  spend 
the  day  seated  beneath  the  great  dome,  happy  to 
view  the  creation  of  his  great  intellect,  though 
possibly  disturbed  now  and  then  by  a  little  grain  of 
discontent:  how  much  better  he  could  do  it  now, 
if  only  he  had  youth  and  opportunity  —  a  worry 
that  only  assails  the  true  artist. 

In  the  natural  sequence  of  dates  we  ought  to 
have  opened  this  account  with  the  earlier  founda- 

[348  J 


LONDON 

tions.  This  we  purposely  disregarded,  and  intro- 
duced the  reader  straightway  to  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  impressive  building  of  St.  Paul's  that  the 
site  has  ever  had,  leaving  the  others  to  be  dealt 
with  until  now. 

The  earliest  known  house  for  religious  observance 
on  the  site  of  the  present  cathedral  was  a  temple. 
In  accordance  with  the  usual  practice  of  early 
founders,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  the  site 
selected  for  it  was  upon  the  highest  spot  of  ground 
in  the  city.  If  we  follow  the  acounts  of  old 
London,  it  would  have  been  folly  for  the  Romans 
to  have  erected  an  important  building  like  a  temple 
upon  a  lower  level,  which  might  have  got  swamped 
by  an  unusual  rising  of  the  tidal  Thames.  Apart 
from  such  consideration,  it  was  not  the  Roman 
custom  to  debase,  but  rather  to  elevate  as  high  as 
possible,  any  object  they  held  in  great  reverence. 
It  would  form  also  a  convenient  centre  to  rally 
round  in  defence  of  any  attack.  In  all  accounts  of 
the  site  of  St.  Paul's  the  writers  have  plenty  to 
say  about  the  three  churches,  but  seldom,  if  ever, 
allude  to  the  temple  erected  by  the  Romans. 

This  is  the  more  curious  when  etymologists  have 
endeavoured  to  explain  the  affinity  of  Christian 
symbols  to  those  of  heathenism,  showing  how  it 
was  clearly  impossible,  and  hardly  to  be  expected, 

[349] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

that  pagan  customs  should  be  suddenly  arrested 
and  completely  abolished,  and  an  entire  set  of  new 
observances  introduced  expressly  for  the  new 
faith  —  Christianity.  Such  a  sudden  change  could 
not,  they  contend,  be  thrust  upon  a  people  brought 
up  to  revere  the  old  heathen  deities  and  observe 
customs  rendered  sacred  through  superstition 
and  countless  ages.  They  required  a  gradual 
weaning,  and  this,  so  they  say,  was  done  by 
christianising  the  pagan  symbols  derived  from 
nature-worship  and  adapting  them  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  new  faith,  —  symbols  which, 
in  course  of  time,  became  so  clothed  that  their 
original  significance  was  lost  sight  of. 

It  would  greatly  astonish  all  devout  Christians 
to  learn  that  the  many  objects  they  look  up  to 
with  sacred  awe  and  wonder  of  mystery,  the  in- 
verted triangles  which  often  form  an  ornament  in 
church  windows,  the  facing  towards  the  east,  even 
the  derivation  of  the  very  nave  they  may  happen 
to  be  in,  with  a  variety  of  other  symbols,  existed 
long  before  Christianity  was  ever  thought  of. 
It  may  also  be  a  little  disturbing  to  learn  that, 
quite  unintentionally,  they  are  indirectly  paying 
respect  to  many  of  the  most  heathen  observances 
cloaked  under  the  garb  of  Christian  religion.  It 
is  far  from  our  intention  to  advocate  a  return  to 

[  350] 


LONDON 

pagan  darkness,  but  if  this  be  really  true,  surely 
there  is  a  very  close  connection  between  the  temple 
and  the  Christian  church.  For  this  very  reason, 
and  the  more  so  in  that  certain  lines  of  their  argu- 
ment are  not  to  be  refuted,  we  would  accord  a 
greater  importance  than  has  been  hitherto  done 
to  the  Roman  temple  that  undoubtedly  first  stood 
on  the  prominent  piece  of  land  in  the  London  of 
those  days.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  at  the 
time  this  temple  was  erected  to  Diana  the  suffer- 
ings and  crucifixion  of  Our  Lord  had  not  already 
borne  fruit,  but  the  very  existence  of  the  temple 
clearly  indicates  that  in  London,  at  any  rate,  the 
new  faith  was  very  much  in  its  infancy,  if  it  existed 
at  all.  But  the  demolition  of  the  temple,  to  make 
room  for  the  first  Christian  church,  which  was 
in  turn  destroyed  in  302  during  the  Diocletian 
persecution,  clearly  gives  evidence  that  there  must 
have  been  growing  indications  of  the  presence  of 
converts  and  missionaries  which  led  to  the  erection 
of  the  latter  from  the  ruins  of  the  former. 

A  matter  of  twenty  years  later,  in  the  reign  of 
Constantine,  the  church  was  rebuilt,  and  completed 
by  337.  What  the  shape  of  the  first  one  was  can 
only  be  conjectured.  It  would  most  probably  be 
based  upon  the  temple.  The  second  was  un- 
doubtedly Romanesque,  if  we  can  rely  upon  the 

'   [351] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

dates  of  its  rebuilding.  They  fall  conveniently  be- 
tween 306  and  337,  a  period  of  marvellous  devel- 
opment of  ecclesiastical  architecture  based  upon 
classical  remains,  which  the  favourable  attitude 
of  Constantine  towards  Christianity  encouraged. 
Converts  in  Rome  had  increased  to  such  numbers 
that  it  was  felt  that  some  covered-in  space  was 
essential  to  protect  the  congregation  against  the 
sun's  hot  rays  and  inclement  weather,  the  more 
especially  as  such  a  building,  far  from  attracting 
hostile  attention,  would  serve  to  the  furtherance 
of  Christianity.  The  form  it  took  was  the  con- 
version of  the  basilica.  As  anything  that  came 
from  Rome  was  looked  upon  as  a  correct  thing 
to  copy,  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  travel- 
ling merchants  and  missionaries  were  able  to  con- 
trol the  taste  of  the  cities  they  passed  through. 
In  this  way  each  country  adopted  the  basilica, 
though  in  many  features  they  differed  from  each 
other,  consequent  on  customs,  surroundings,  and 
climatic  conditions.  However,  about  the  year  597, 
the  pagan  Saxons  appear  to  have  destroyed  the 
church.  We  come  then  to  the  first  church  of 
St.  Paul's  of  which  we  have  authentic  record.  It 
was  built  by  Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  in  607.  He 
had  first  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  Sebert,  who 
claimed  London  as  being  in  his  dominion  of  the 

[352] 


LO.NDUN 

ST.  Paul's   and   ludgate   hii.l 


LONDON 

East  Angles.  To  this  see  Mellitus  was  appointed 
as  the  first  bishop.  He  was  one  of  the  forty 
monks  who  had  accompanied  Augustine  in  597  to 
help  to  carry  out  Pope  Gregory  the  Great's  scheme, 
which  was  to  divide  England  into  two  provinces 
with  metropolitans  of  equal  dignity  at  London 
and  York,  with  twelve  suffragans  to  each.  Since 
then  London's  see  has  become  third,  ranking  next 
to  York.  In  the  course  of  four  hundred  and 
eighty  years,  607-1  o87,nodoubt  Ethelbert's church 
underwent  considerable  alteration,  probably  com- 
mencing with  a  very  humble  building,  perhaps 
chiefly  of  wood,  and  as  portions  got  out  of  repair 
such  characteristics  of  stone  buildings,  as  learnt  from 
travellers  returning  from  Italy,  were  introduced, 
thus  gradually  transforming  the  Saxon  church  to 
architecture  "in  the  Roman  way."  For. after  the 
departure  of  the  Romans  the  Britons  at  first  appear 
to  have  returned  to  primitive  methods  of  architec- 
ture. It  is  only  as  time  progressed  that  they 
gradually  became  initiated,  through  the  visits  of 
travellers,  into  the  working  of  stone,  which,  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Normans,  came  into  more 
general  practice. 

To  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  St.  Paul's, 
Ethelbert  endowed  it  with  a  farm  at  Tillingham 
in    Essex.      The    property    is  still    managed,    the 

[355] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

rents  of  which   are  controlled  by  the   Dean  and 
Chapter. 

The  chief  event  which  took  place  within  its 
walls  was  the  first  great  Ecclesiastical  Council  of 
the  English  Church  under  the  presidency  of 
Archbishop  Lanfranc.  Twelve  years  afterwards, 
in  1087,  a  great  conflagration  completely  de- 
stroyed the  church.  No  time  was  lost,  for  appar- 
ently in  the  same  year  building  operations  were  put 
in  hand  for  what  many  v/riters  call  Old  St.  Paul's, 
the  second  church.  By  this  time  we  may  take  it 
that  architecture  in  England  had  advanced  con- 
siderably, and  if  anything  it  was  a  rather  fortunate 
accident  that  overtook  Ethelbert's  building.  The 
nation  had  by  now  realised  that  1 000  a.  d.  was 
the  dreaded  millennium  of  the  past ;  they  recog- 
nised they  had  a  stern  master  in  William  the  Con- 
queror, who,  though  he  might  be  harsh  upon  them, 
would  allow  no  one  else  to  be  so.  For  some 
years  prior  to  the  millennium  few  buildings  of  any 
importance  were  erected,  so  thoroughly  had  the 
mind  been  terrorised  at  the  prospect  of  the  world 
coming  to  an  end,  and  even  after  it  had  proved 
false,  the  reaction  does  not  seem  to  have  taken 
place  till  the  accession  of  the  Norman.  When  it 
did  occur,  we  see  by  examples  now  extant  what  a 
great  advance   architecture    had  made,  or   rather, 

[356] 


LONDON 

the  knowledge  of  stonework  had  become  more 
general.  This  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  monks 
and  stonemasons  who  followed  in  the  wake  of  the 
Conquest.  The  plan  of  the  Norman  church  of 
St.  Paul's  was  the  Latin  cross.  The  body  of  it 
appears  to  have  been  narrower  and  considerably 
longer  than  Wren's  cathedral.  In  fact  we  are 
much  indebted  to  the  numerous  discoveries  of  Mr. 
Penrose,  and  we  learn  that  the  west  front  came 
right  to  the  fore  of  Queen  Anne's  statue,  which 
then  did  not  exist.  Another  great  difference  was 
that  the  axis  of  Old  St.  Paul's,  as  one  faces  the 
west  front,  was  more  to  the  left  of  the  statue, 
whereas  that  of  the  present  building  runs  right 
through  the  centre  of  it.  At  the  outset  the 
Cathedral  consisted  of  a  nave  of  twelve  bays, 
transepts,  and  a  short  apsidal  choir  built  in  the 
round  arched  style  peculiar  to  Norman  architecture. 
The  whole  then  stood  within  spacious  precincts 
enclosed  by  a  continuous  wall.  In  the  wall  were 
six  gates.  The  principal  one  opened  in  the  west 
on  to  Ludgate  Hill,  whilst  the  second,  at  St.  Paul's 
Alley,  led  to  "  Little  North  Dore  "  ;  the  third,  at 
Canon's  Alley,  showed  the  way  to  the  north  tran- 
sept door ;  the  fourth  was  called  Little  Gate,  and 
led  from  Cheapside  to  Paul's  Cross  (where  now 
stands  a  foizntain)  ;  the  fifth,  St.  Augustine's  Gate, 

[357  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

faced  Watling  Street ;  and  the  sixth  was  the  entrance 
from  the  side  of  the  river  to  the  south  transept. 
A  matter  of  130  years  later,  it  was  decided  to 
extend  eastwards  from  the  choir  and  introduce  the 
newly  developed  style,  which  was  the  use  of  the 
pointed  arch.  The  new  work,  consisting  of  eight 
bays,  was  carried  out,  but  it  caused  the  demolition 
of  the  old  parish  church  of  St.  Faith,  which  lay 
right  in  the  course.  As  some  compensation  the 
parishioners  were  allowed  to  use  a  portion  of  the 
crypt  under  the  new  choir  as  their  parish  church. 
After  the  Great  Fire  much  controversy  arose.  The 
parishioners  of  St.  Faith's  claimed  their  right  to 
bury  their  dead  in  the  whole  space  beneath  the 
choir  of  Wren's  cathedral.  This  the  Chapter 
disallowing,  a  lawsuit  ensued,  which  resulted  in  a 
compromise,  the  parishioners  being  satisfied  with 
rights  of  burial  in  the  north  aisle  of  the  crypt. 
The  "new  work"  was  solemnly  dedicated  in  1240. 
In  the  meantime  a  spire,  489  feet  in  height,  was 
put  in  hand  and  was  finally  completed  in  1315. 
The  spire  of  Old  St.  Paul's  proved  to  be  a  great 
source  of  anxiety.  It  was  struck  by  lightning 
three  times,  and  eventually  was  completely  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  from  a  fourth  lightning  in 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  in  1561.  It  was  never 
put  up  again.      Right  in  the  angle  of  the  south 

[358] 


LONDON 

transept  and  the  nave  existed  a  fair-sized  Chap- 
ter House,  which  appears  to  have  had  cloisters,  the 
remains  of  which  can  still  be  seen  in  the  gardens 
on  the  south  side  of  the  nave,  whilst  on  the 
north  side  of  the  choir  the  position  of  Paul's 
Cross  is  defined  bv  the  insertion  of  stones  let  into 
the  ground.  Paul's  Cross,  which  by  order  of  Parlia- 
ment was  demolished  in  1 643,  was  a  pulpit  of  wood, 
mounted  upon  steps  of  stone,  and  covered  with  lead. 
At  this  place,  the  Court,  the  Mayor,  the  Alder- 
men, and  the  chief  citizens  used  to  assemble  to 
listen  to  sermons  from  the  most  eminent  divines, 
who  were  appointed  to  preach  every  Sunday  in 
the  forenoon.  It  was  used  as  early  as  1259,  and 
not  only  were  sermons  delivered  from  it,  but 
also  political  and  ecclesiastical  discourses  were 
held. 

Old  St.  Paul's,  by  the  time  of  Charles  I.,  got  into 
such  a  terrible  state  of  dilapidation  that  steps  were 
taken  to  put  it  into  thorough  repair.  A  fund  was 
established  and  the  work  was  intrusted  to  Inigo 
Jones.  He  got  as  far  as  the  refacing  of  the  Cathe- 
dral inside  and  out,  and  the  adding  of  a  classical 
portico,  when  his  labours  were  interrupted  by  the 
Commonwealth.  The  famous  architect  died  before 
the  Restoration.  In  the  meantime  Cromwell's 
troops  did  considerable  damage,  what  with  stabling 

[  359  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

their  horses  within  the  sacred  edifice  and  employ- 
ing their  leisure  time  in  defacing  the  building. 
They  removed  and  sold  the  scaffolding,  which 
Inigo  Jones  had  set  up  for  the  purpose  of  restoring 
the  vaulting,  and  in  consequence  much  of  the  roof- 
work  fell  down.  At  the  Restoration,  Dr.  Wren, 
as  he  was  then  called,  was  appointed  Assistant- 
Surveyor-General  of  his  Majesty's  Works,  and 
instructed  to  repair  the  fabric.  However,  on 
September  2,  1666,  the  Great  Fire  of  London 
broke  out  and  completely  destroyed  Old  St. 
Paul's.  Instead  of  carrying  out  his  scheme  of 
restoration.  Wren  was  afterwards  enabled  to  leave 
to  posterity  this  masterpiece  of  genius  that  took 
him  from  the  year  1675  till  the  year  1710  to 
realise. 

How  is  one  to  describe  London,  the  capital  of 
the  British  Empire,  and  the  largest  city  in  the 
world  ?  The  subject-matter  would  take  volumes, 
if  an  exhaustive  treatise  be  required.  Here  it 
necessarily  can  only  be  a  slight  sketch.  If  we  are 
to  put  any  reliance  on  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  a 
city  existed  here  1 1 07  years  before  Christ  was 
born,  and  354  even  before  Rome  came  into  exist- 
ence. The  founder,  he  asserts,  was  Brute,  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  Trojan  ^neas,  by  whom 
the  city  was  called  New  Troy,  or  Troy-novant, 

[360] 


LONDON 

till  the  advent  of  Lud,  who  changed  it  to  Coer 
Lud  or  Lud-town,  and  encompassed  it  with  walls. 
Though  the  king's  name  is  made  evident  in  Lud- 
gate  Hill,  which  runs  up  to  St.  Paul's  west  front, 
this  author's  statements  are  considered  as  pleasing 
fictions  by  serious-minded  authorities.  Again,  it 
is  said  to  have  been  the  capital  of  the  Trinobantes 
in  54  B.  c.  With  the  arrival  of  the  Romans  we 
get  more  definite  information,  yet  we  are  inclined 
to  think  that  they  must  have  found  some  kind  of  a 
British  settlement,  the  more  especially  if  we  bear 
in  mind  that,  until  the  Romans  came,  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames  was  close  at  hand.  The  Thames  of 
to-day  was  not  the  Thames  of  that  time.  It  was 
very  much  shallower,  possibly  quite  easy  to  ford  at 
low  tide.  This  was  caused  by  the  great  inunda- 
tion over  large  tracts  of  the  counties  of  Kent  and 
Essex,  which  took  place  every  time  it  became  high 
tide. 

Till  the  Romans  set  the  example  of  reclaiming 
the  land  and  confining  the  river  to  its  channel,  a 
great  volume  of  water  had  thus  expended  itself 
and  reduced  the  depth  considerably.  But  to  the 
early  Britons,  where  the  higher  level  of  land 
checked  and  brought  back  the  wandering  Thames, 
to  continue  its  upward  course  within  its  proper 
confinement,  must  have  appeared  the  mouth.       In 

[361] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

their  belief  that  such  was  the  case  it  is  only  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  Britons  would  take  advantage 
of  such  an  excellent  site.  A  clearing  was  gradually 
made,  for  London  was  well  wooded  once,  on  the 
highest  ground,  which  would  be  somewhere  from 
the  site  of  St.  Paul's  to  as  far  as  the  Bank  of 
England,  and  a  temple  was  erected  within  some 
groves.  To  the  Romans  in  6i  a.  d.  it  was  known 
as  Londinium  or  Colonia  Augusta,  the  former,  no 
doubt,  being  a  Latinised  form  of  Lyn-Din,  meaning 
"  the  town  on  the  lake."  Boadicea,  Queen  of  the 
Iceni,  in  the  same  year  is  credited  with  having 
reduced  it  to  ashes,  and  to  have  put  70,000 
Romans  and  strangers  to  the  sword.  This  whole- 
sale slaughter  was  punished,  in  the  same  year,  by 
Suetonius,  who  retaliated  by  a  massacre  of  80,000 
Britons,  a  defeat  that  so  preyed  upon  Boadicea 
that  she  promptly  poisoned  herself.  Tacitus,  the 
Roman  historian,  who  lived  about  90  years  aftec 
Christ,  relates  how  Suetonius  felt  constrained  to 
abandon  London,  "  that  place  of  busy  traffic  and 
thronged  with  traders,"  to  the  British,  because  he 
did  not  feel  equal  to  the  task  of  defending  it.  This 
is  surely  a  proof  that  London  was  no  mushroom 
city,  though  Tacitus  makes  no  mention  of  a  mint, 
as  he  does  when  he  describes  Verulamium  and 
Camulodum.      There   also   appears  to  have  been 

[362] 


LONDON 

another  British  settlement  on  the  south  bank,  now 
known  as  Southwark.  This  district,  by  the  way, 
has  just  within  the  last  few  days  been  erected  into 
a  see  with  the  cathedral,  or  throne,  installed  in 
its  fine  old  church  of  St.  Saviour.  This  is  where 
Gower,  the  father  of  English  poets,  is  interred,  and 
is  honoured  with  a  quaint  coloured  monument 
principally  of  carved  wood,  and  the  holy  precincts 
also  contain  the  remains  of  Shakespeare's  brother. 
Southwark  is  the  Londinium  attributed  to 
Ptolemy's  description  as  being  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Thames,  though  it  does  not  discredit  the 
existence  of  that  on  the  north.  As  to  the  actual 
size  and  exact  site  of  early  London,  it  will  be 
many  years  before  that  can  be  accurately  deter- 
mined. As  old  buildings  are  pulled  down  and 
excavations  are  made  for  foundations,  speculation 
becomes  much  narrowed.  The  discoveries  by 
Wren,  and  recently  by  Mr.  Arthur  Taylor,  the 
late  Mr.  H.  Black,  Mr.  Roach-Smith  and  Mr. 
J.  E.  Price,  one  of  our  greatest  authorities,  have 
thrown  much  light  on  early  London.  It  has  been 
found  that  cemeteries  once  existed  in  Cheapside, 
on  the  site  of  St.  Paul's,  close  to  Newgate  and 
elsewhere,  which  are  known  to  date  from  the 
Later  Roman  period.  On  the  assumption  that 
it  was   an    illegal    Roman    practice    to   bury   the 

[363] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

dead  within  the  city  walls,  it  follows  they  must 
have  been  outside,  thus  limiting  the  habitable 
area. 

As  to  when  and  where  the  first  bridge  spanned 
the  Thames  are  points  difficult  to  decide.  Sir 
George  Airy  supposes  that  the  bridge  mentioned 
by  Dion  Cassius  (43  a.  d.)  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Thames  was  not  far  from  the  site  of  London 
Bridge,  on  the  inference  that  the  mouth  of  the 
Thames  of  early  times  was  close  to  this  site.  Dr. 
Guest,  on  the  other  hand,  recognises  it  as  a  bridge 
made  by  the  Britons,  but  places  it  as  being  con- 
structed over  the  marshy  valley  of  the  Lea,  near 
Stratford,  his  theory  being  that  the  Britons  would 
have  been  unable  to  bridge  over  a  tidal  river  like 
the  Thames  with  the  width  of  three  hundred  yards, 
and  a  difference  of  nearly  twenty  feet  in  the  rise  and 
fall  of  the  water.  From  remains  found  of  ancient 
piles  in  the  river-bed,  and  the  great  number  of  Ro- 
man coins,  a  well-known  practice  observed  by  this 
Latin  race  to  commemorate  any  important  under- 
taking, antiquarians  seem  to  agree  that  there  was  a 
Roman  bridge  in  the  Anno  Domini  period  of  their 
occupation,  and  that  indications  point  to  its  location 
at  London  Bridge.  In  their  time  London  was  a 
port  of  considerable  importance.  As  many  as  eight 
hundred  vessels  are  said  to  have  been  employed  in 

[364] 


LONDON 

exporting  corn  alone  in  the  year  359,  which  shows 
that  agriculture  was  in  full  swing.  With  the 
departure  of  the  Romans  in  409  the  city  became 
the  capital  of  the  Saxon  kingdom  of  Essex,  and 
was  called  Lundenceaster.  Subsequent  events  of 
importance  are  those  that  occurred  under  the 
dynasties  of  the  Norman  (i  066-1 154),  the  Planta- 
genet  (1154-1485),  the  Tudor  (1485-1603),  the 
Stuart  (1603-17 1 4),  interrupted  in  the  midst  by 
Cromwell's  Protectorate,  and  finally  the  Hanoverian 
succession,  which  brings  us  down  to  this  year  of 
grace,  with  Edward  VII.  King  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  Emperor  of  India,  and  monarch  of  the 
greatest  and  most  prosperous  empire.  To  attempt 
to  give  a  detailed  account  of  all  that  happened 
under  the  successive  heads  of  the  State  is  clearly 
impossible.  Two  events,  however,  stand  out  pro- 
minently. One  was  the  Great  Plague  of  London 
that  commenced  in  December  1 664,  and  carried  oflT 
a  matter  of  ninety  thousand  victims.  The  horrors 
of  this  pestilence  are  graphically  described  in  the 
Diary  of  Samuel  Pepys,  who  was  an  eye-witness. 
Daniel  Defoe,  though  writing  some  years  after, 
has  given  us  a  wonderfully  realistic  account  in  his 
"  History  of  the  Plague."  Fires  were  kept  up 
night  and  day,  to  purify  the  air,  for  three  days.  No 
sooner  did  the  infection  come  to  an  end  than  the 

[365] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

great  conflagration  of  September  2,  1666,  broke 
out.  It  began  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  a 
baker's  shop  in  Pudding  Lane,  behind  Monument 
Yard.  It  spread  from  the  Tower  to  the  Temple 
Church  of  the  Middle  Temple  in  Fleet  Street,  and 
away  to  Holborn.  In  the  short  space  of  four  days 
it  destroyed  eighty-nine  churches  (including  St. 
Paul's),  the  city  gates,  the  Royal  Exchange,  the 
Custom  House,  Guildhall,  Sion  College,  and  many 
other  public  buildings,  besides  some  fourteen  thou- 
sand houses  and  the  ruin  of  four  hundred  streets. 
The  Monument,  built  by  Wren  in  1 671-1 672, 
commemorates  the  origin  of  the  fire,  202  feet  from 
its  base. 

It  is  only  within  recent  years  that  London  —  by 
which  is  meant  London  in  its  broadest  sense ;  that 
is,  including  the  city  and  excluding  the  suburbs  — 
has  been  divided  into  a  number  of  townships.  It 
is  now  no  longer  correct  to  call  Marylebone,  Pad- 
dington,  and  many  other  such,  "parishes."  They 
are  all  boroughs,  and  possess  a  mayor  and  cor- 
poration of  their  own,  each  with  a  townhall  to 
support  the  dignity.  They  have  a  certain  amount 
to  say  in  local  afl^airs,  the  more  important  being 
under  the  control  of  the  London  County  Coun- 
cil, who  in  turn  hold  themselves  responsible  to 
Parliament. 

[  366  ] 


LONDON 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London 
proper  is  confined  within  certain  limits,  as  defined 
by  an  irregular  line  of  boundary  commencing  from 
the  Tower,  northward  through  the  Minories,  past 
Aldgate,  behind  Liverpool  Street  Station,  working 
round  to  Holborn,  across  Chancery  Lane,  to  end  at 
Middle  Temple.  His  career  is  generally  marked 
by  an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years'  duration  to 
some  city  guild,  such  as  the  Mercers',  the  Grocers', 
Merchant  Tailors',  Vintners',  Armourers  and 
Braziers',  and  some  seventy  others.  At  the  end  of 
this  period  he  obtains,  on  the  payment  of  a  certain 
fee  and  a  glance  at  a  series  of  Hogarth's  "  Progress 
of  the  Rake  "  at  the  Guildhall,  the  freedom  of  the 
Ancient  City  of  London.  As  a  vacancy  occurs  in 
his  company  he  fills  it  as  a  "  Liveryman."  After 
these  initial  stages  he  is  open  to  become  a  Master 
of  the  said  company,  and  becomes  eligible  for 
alderman,  sheriff,  and  Lord  Mayor.  The  candi- 
date's ambition,  however,  is  tempered  according  to 
his  means  ;  for  to  worthily  fill  the  office  of  the  first 
magistrate  he  must  be  prepared  to  be  considerably 
out  of  pocket,  though  the  loss  is  generally  com- 
pensated by  a  knighthood,  and  on  special  occasions 
by  a  baronetcy.  Though  he  may  be  entirely  devoid 
of  any  legal  training,  the  Lord  Mayor  during 
his  tenure  of  office,  or  the  aldermen,  are  always 

[367] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

present  on  the  bench  at  the  Central  Criminal 
Court,  which  sits  at  the  Old  Bailey.  This  court 
was  created  in  1834  to  bring  under  one  jurisdiction 
the  criminal  cases  that  are  supplied  by  the  immense 
population  around  the  city.  Opposite  the  Man- 
sion House,  the  official  residence  of  the  Lord 
Mayor,  is  the  Bank  of  England.  The  Royal  Mint 
faces  the  Tower  of  London,  and  was  constituted  as 
now  about  1617,  whilst  the  buildings  date  about 
1 8 10.  The  first  known  Warder  or  Master  was  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  I.,  the  wardership  becoming 
extinct  with  Lord  Maryborough  (1814-23),  and 
the  last  Master  was  Professor  Thomas  Graham, 
who  died  in  1869.  By  the  Coinage  Act  in  the 
following  year  the  Master  of  the  Mint,  who  as 
such  had  existed  up  till  then,  was  abolished,  and 
the  post  was  combined  with  that  of  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer.  On  the  other  side  of  the  road 
is  the  famous  Tower  of  London,  the  White  Tower 
or  central  keep  of  which  was  built  in  1078  by 
Gundulph,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  in  obedience  to 
the  command  of  William  the  Conqueror.  By  the 
side  of  this  historic  pile  is  the  Tower  Bridge,  the 
marvellous  engineering  feat  of  Sir  Horace  Jones 
and  Sir  J.  Wolfe  Barry.  It  opens  upwards  in  the 
centre  to  allow  the  shipping  to  pass  through. 
Right  away  towards  the  east  are  the  great  docks, 

[368] 


LONDON 

the  principal  of  which  are  the  London  Docks  and 
the  East  India  Docks. 

Passing  west  of  the  city  are  the  great  Law 
Courts  in  the  Strand,  designed  by  Streeter. 

Behind  them  is  Lincoln's  Inn,  and  in  front 
across  Fleet  Street,  is  the  Temple.  Gray's  Inn 
is  in  Holborn,  as  well  as  Staple  Inn,  with  the 
picturesque  old-fashioned  frontage,  once  the  pre- 
vailing style  of  London's  domestic  architecture. 
Smaller  Inns  are  Clifford's  Inn,  threatened  with 
demolition,  with  Old  Serjeant's  Inn  adjoining, 
while  Serjeant's  Inn  is  on  the  other  side  of  Fleet 
Street,  nearer  to  Ludgate  Circus,  and  not  far  from 
the  Temple. 

In  Trafalgar  Square  a  priceless  collection  of 
old  masters'  paintings  are  housed  in  the  National 
Gallery,  once  the  premises  of  the  Royal  Academy 
of  Arts,  who  moved  to  Burlington  House,  Picca- 
dilly. 

Regent  Street,  with  its  shops,  and  Bond  Street, 
the  great  centre  for  art  dealers  and  picture  galleries, 
hardly  require  further  description.  The  British 
Museum,  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  and 
numerous  others ;  the  great  hospitals,  —  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's, Guy's,  Charing  Cross,  and  many  more 
equally  as  well  known ;  the  wonderful  open  spaces 
as  typified  by  Hyde  Park ;   the  Palaces  of  Buck- 

H  [  369  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ingham,  St.  James,  and  Kensington ;  besides  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Paul,  the  Abbey,  and  Houses  of 
Parliament,  Westminster,  with  the  newly  erected 
Roman  Catholic  Cathedral,  close  to  Victoria 
Station,  comprise  only  a  tithe  of  what  can  be 
seen  in  the  capital  of  the  British  Empire. 


[370] 


Eboracum. 
("  Doomsday  Book.") 

ONE  can  hardly  think  of  York  without  re- 
calling the  wonderful  ride  of  Dick  Turpin 
on  his  famous  mare  Black  Bess.  It  came 
about  one  day  that  he  was  resting  at  the  Kilburn 
Wells  —  a  site  now  taken  up  by  a  modern  banking- 
house  —  in  the  company  of  another  notorious  high- 
wayman, King,  who  seemed  very  much  depressed. 
"Dick,"  he  said,  "I  have  had  a  most  curious 
dream.  I  seemed  to  be  dying  from  a  pistol-shot 
by  you."  "  No,  no,"  protested  Dick,  and  was 
doing  his  best  to  cheer  up  his  friend  when  suddenly 
unusual  commotion  arose  outside,  followed  by  the 
immediate  entrance  of  the  bailiffs  to  apprehend 
King  dead  or  alive.  One  of  his  numerous  mis- 
tresses had  given  him  away  in  a  mad  fit  of  jealousy. 
It  took  little  time  for  Turpin  and  King  to  reach 
their  horses,  which  were  always  tethered  close 
by.     Turpin   was  soon    in    the  saddle,  but  turn- 

[371  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ing  round  he  perceived  that  his  comrade  was 
in  difficulties.  The  horse  was  restive,  and  its 
master  was  making  vain  attempts  to  mount.  To 
draw  his  pistol  out  of  the  holster  and  empty  its 
contents  towards  the  man  who  had  by  now  laid  his 
hand  on  King  was  a  moment's  thought.  But  to 
Turpin's  horror  he  saw  the  dream  realised.  His 
friend  dead,  it  was  folly  to  dally  longer.  Amidst 
a  volley  of  shots  he  quickly  wheeled  his  mare 
round  and  galloped  off,  hotly  pursued  by  the 
excisemen,  who  had  soon  recognised  him.  Along 
West  End  Lane  into  Finchley,  away  towards 
Barnet,  his  mare,  gallantly  taking  every  toll-gate, 
soon  carried  her  master  out  of  immediate  danger. 
It  was  then  that  Dick  Turpin  determined  to  try 
the  fettle  of  Bess  by  carrying  out  his  long-cherished 
ambition  of  riding  ninety  miles  to  York.  Without 
a  change  of  mounts,  and  only  an  occasional  rinse- 
out  of  his  faithful  animal's  mouth  with  some  strong 
stimulant,  he  accomplished  his  wish,  but  at  the 
sacrifice  of  his  mare.  She  died  from  exhaustion, 
having,  however,  saved  her  master  and  cheated 
justice.  This  is  no  legend,  but  an  absolute  fact — 
a  story  that  has  quickened  the  imagination  of  every 
English  schoolboy,  accompanied  with  a  regret  that 
such  good  old  rollicking  days  no  longer  exist,  that 
there  is  no  relieving  rich  merchants  of  well-filled 


YORK 

STONEGATE 


YORK 

purses,  no  opportunity  of  calming  the  fears  of  fair 
ladies,  no  chance  of  acting  the  grand  seigneur 
towards  the  poor,  no  languishing  in  Newgate  with 
a  glorious  death  at  Tyburn.  No,  that  is  all  a 
dream  now. 

Though  customs  have  greatly  changed  since 
those  days  of  unsafe  travelling,  the  quaint  streets, 
the  great  gateways  of  bold  architecture,  and  the 
magnificent  church  all  lend  the  city  of  York 
the  wonderful  fascination  of  age,  heightened  by 
the  situation  of  the  river  Ouse  at  its  junction 
with  the  Foss. 

In  what  county  of  England  the  famous  city 
and  glorious  minster  of  York  are,  requires  little 
mental  effort.  It  is  the  most  ancient  metropolitan 
see  in  England.  At  one  time  great  controversy 
arose  between  York  and  Canterbury  as  to  prece- 
dence. It  was  thought  that  whichever  one  of 
them  could  successfully  prove  that  the  one  first 
confirmed  was  meant  by  Pope  Gregory  to  be  the 
senior,  should  be  the  superior.  As,  however,  no 
satisfactory  understanding  could  be  arrived  at,  the 
question  was  left  to  the  Papal  Court  at  Rome.  By 
its  decision  it  was  determined  in  favour  of  Can- 
terbury, so  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  styles 
himself  Primate  of  All  England,  whilst  the  Arch- 
bishop   of  York   rests    content    with    Primate    of 

[375] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

England ;  the  reduction  of  one  word,  but  it 
means  a  great  deal.  In  the  history  of  England 
we  see  what  part  these  two  metropolitans  have 
taken,  how  they  have  occasionally  fallen  out  over 
what  now  appears  to  us  the  most  trifling  matters, 
but  which  no  doubt  were  considered  of  most  vital 
importance  at  the  time.  In  this  account  they 
need  no  recapitulation,  for  they  can  be  turned  up 
in  any  history  book  on  England. 

In  the  very  early  years  of  Anno  Domini,  when 
Christianity  in  England  was  quite  in  its  infancy, — 
or  to  be  more  exact  about  the  year  i8o,  —  it  is  said 
that  King  Lucius  established  the  Metropolitan  See 
at  York.  In  those  days,  however,  it  could  hardly 
have  been  called  by  that  name.  Prior  to  this 
monarch's  time  it  was  the  town  of  the  Brigantes, 
and  was  known  as  Evrauc.  They  appear  to  have 
been  a  very  hardy  race.  Through  them  it  was 
that  Caractacus,  one  of  two  sons  of  Cymbeline, 
after  the  Silures  were  defeated  by  Ostorius,  made 
the  last  important  stand  against  the  Romans.  That 
is  to  say,  with  the  submission  of  the  Brigantes  and 
the  capture  of  Caractacus,  all  unity  among  the 
British  tribes  came  to  an  end,  so  that  it  became 
comparatively  an  easy  task  for  the  Romans  to 
complete  the  conquest  of  England. 

This    they    did    in    the    second    campaign    of 

[376] 


YORK 

THE    SHAMBLES 


YORK 

Agricola,  about  the  year  79  a.  d.,  and  the  Roman 
power  was  due  to  the  divided  factions  and  parties 
of  the  Britons,  who,  though  they  might  have 
kings  and  all  the  outward  show  of  sovereignty, 
were  merely  puppets  in  the  hands  of  the  con- 
querors. From  this  year  to  400  the  Romans 
steadily  evolved  a  unity  of  their  own  in  Britain. 
On  their  departure,  history  tells  us  how  the  British 
implored  them  to  come  back  and  protect  them, 
so  helpless  had  they  become  in  the  art  of  attack 
and  defence. 

As  Evrauc  belonged  to  the  Brigantes,  we  may 
take  it  that  it  was  the  chief  town  of  the  British  in 
the  north  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Romans  after  the  defeat  of  Caractacus.  By  them 
it  was  called  Eboracum,  and  became  the  metro- 
politan of  the  north,  the  military  capital  and  centre 
of  the  Romans  in  Britain. 

The  original  Roman  city  was  rectangular  in 
form  and  of  considerable  dimensions.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  been  laid  out  in  imitation  of 
ancient  Rome,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Ouse.  A 
temple  to  Bellona  was  erected  as  well  as  a  prstorium, 
in  which  the  emperors  sat,  for  Eboracum  was 
honoured  by  the  great  heads  of  Rome.  The  first 
to  reside  here  was  Hadrian,  in  120,  whilst  Severus 
died  in  the  city  in  211.     This  last  had  come  over 

[  379  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

with  his  sons,  Caracalla  and  Geta,  and  a  large  army, 
and  the  attendance  of  his  whole  court.  His  time 
was  busily  engaged  in  reducing  the  troublesome 
Britons  to  proper  submission.  The  two  sons  nobly 
helped  their  aged  father.  Caracalla  completed  the 
erection  of  a  strong  wall  of  stone  nearly  eighty  miles 
long,  close  to  the  rampart  of  earth  raised  by  Hadrian, 
in  accordance  with  the  wish  of  Severus,  to  form  a 
more  effectual  barrier  against  future  incursions  of 
the  natives.  During  the  residence  of  the  court, 
Eboracum  reached  to  the  highest  state  of  splendour. 
The  constant  visits  of  tributary  kings  and  foreign 
ambassadors,  who  came  to  pay  their  allegiance  to 
Rome,  caused  it  to  be  unsurpassed  among  the  cities 
of  the  world,  so  much  so  that  it  came  to  be  called 
"Altera  Rome."  The  remains  of  the  Emperor 
Severus,  though  he  died  here  in  212,  were  enclosed 
in  an  urn  and  sent  to  Rome. 

The  Emperor  Constantius  Chlorus  died  also  in 
Eboracum  in  307.  His  son,  Constantius  the  Great, 
was  present  at  his  father's  death,  and  by  the  army 
proclaimed  emperor. 

After  409  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers  tell  us 
that  Britain  was  no  longer  ruled  by  the  Romans. 
Their  statements  are  borne  out  by  the  Saxon 
Chronicle,  This  did  not  mean  that  there  was  a 
general   exodus  of  the   Latin  race  or   civilisation, 

[380] 


YORK 

for  the  connection  of  Rome  with  its  British 
provinces  did  not  cease  suddenly,  though  the  tie 
gradually  became  weakened,  because  from  409 
Roman  officials  probably  ceased  to  be  sent  regu- 
larly. Britain  still  considered  itself  to  be  Roman, 
and  the  inhabitants,  or  rather  the  upper  classes, 
continued  to  speak  Latin.  Even  in  the  sixth 
century  they  were  pleased  to  call  themselves 
"  Romani,"  and  held  themselves  aloof  from  the 
surrounding  barbarians  —  a  term  which  we  know 
was  applied  by  the  Romans  to  tribes,  not  necessarily 
because  they  were  uncivilised,  but  rather  as  a  con- 
venient mark  of  distinction  from  themselves.  Since 
their  departure  from  Britain,  archaeologists  have 
found  rich  mines  of  Roman  remains  in  every  place 
of  their  occupation,  and  none  more  so  than  at 
York  ;  but  to  enumerate  the  many  discoveries  would 
require  more  space  than  can  here  be  allotted. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  "  multangular  tower " 
is  a  notable  evidence  of  the  Roman  occupation, 
though  it  is  much  dilapidated. 

The  city  was  frequently  assailed  by  the  Picts  and 
Scots,  and  after  the  arrival  of  the  Saxons  it  suffered 
considerably  from  the  many  wars  that  arose  be- 
tween the  Britons  and  their  new  allies,  as  well  as 
in  the  struggle  for  supremacy  during  the  establish- 
ment of  the  several  kingdoms  of  the  Octarchy,  and 

[381] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

other  minor  wars.  Early  in  the  seventh  century 
Eboracum  underwent  a  change.  By  the  Saxons 
the  city  was  called  Euro  wic,  Euore  wic,  and 
Eofor  wic,  which  by  Leland  is  supposed  to  have 
been  borrowed  from  its  situation  on  the  river  Eure, 
now  known  as  the  Ouse  ;  but  by  what  process  these 
titles  came  to  be  contracted  into  its  present  name 
of  York  seems  rather  difficult  to  account.  How- 
ever, under  the  name  of  Eoforwic,  the  city 
flourished  as  the  capital  of  the  Bretwaldas  early  in 
the  seventh  century.  Consequent  on  the  conver- 
sion of  Edwin,  King  of  Northumbria,  to  Chris- 
tianity, resulting  from  his  marriage  to  Ethelburga, 
daughter  of  King  Ethelbert  of  Kent,  the  city  was 
erected  in  624  into  an  archiepiscopal  see,  over 
which  Paulinus,  the  confessor  of  the  Queen,  was 
made  primate.  In  addition  to  this,  Edwin  had 
constituted  the  city  as  the  metropolitan  of  his 
kingdom.  Edwin's  work  upon  the  church,  which 
he  dedicated  to  St.  Peter,  and  the  missionary  work 
of  Paulinus,  were  suddenly  suspended  by  an  attack 
of  the  Britons  under  Cadwallo  in  633.  Edwin 
was  killed,  whilst  Ethelburga  escaped  into  Kent 
with  Paulinus.  The  church  in  the  meantime  was 
allowed  to  decay  until  it  was  restored  by  Oswald, 
successor  to  Edwin.  He  managed  to  regain  pos- 
session of  his  kingdom  after  a  sanguinary  conflict 

[382] 


mm  '^ 


1t^  • 


*«iav 


YORK 

with  Cadwallo,  who,  with  the  chief  officers,  was 
killed  during  the  fight. 

We  have  it  by  Bede  that  on  the  site  of  the 
wooden  church,  in  which  the  baptism  was  con- 
ducted by  Paulinus,  Edwin  erected  "  a  large  and 
more  noble  basilica  of  stone,"  dedicated  to  St.  Peter ; 
but,  as  we  have  seen,  the  work  was  interrupted  by 
the  untimely  death  of  the  founder.  Finally  it  was 
repaired  by  Archbishop  Wilfrid,  the  third  prelate 
to  succeed  to  the  government  of  the  See  and  pro- 
vinces. His  predecessor  had  been  Cedda,  who  had 
been  appointed  on  the  death  of  Paulinus  in  Kent. 
The  establishment  was  continued  on  its  original 
lines  by  Wilfrid  and  his  successors  till  the  Norman 
Conquest.  In  the  meantime  York,  under  Arch- 
bishop Egbert,  from  730  to  766,  became  a  most 
celebrated  centre  of  learning,  and  reached  to  its 
height  under  Alcuin.  The  former  had  repaired 
the  ravages  caused  by  fire  in  741  to  the  Cathedral, 
which  is  described  by  Alcuin  as  "  a  most  magnifi- 
cent basilica."  The  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Danes.  They  soon  made  it  an  important  seat  of 
commerce,  and  constituted  it  the  capital  of  the 
Danish  jarl.  In  1050  the  Abbey  of  St.  Mary's 
was  founded  by  Siward,  who  is  supposed  to  have 
died  at  York  five  years  later  and  to  have  been 
buried  in  St.  Olave's  Church.  William  the  Con- 
*5  [  385  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

queror  then  seized  York  in  1068  and  erected  a 
tower.  The  new  condition  of  things  was  not 
allowed  to  remain  long.  Sweyn,  in  the  following 
year,  sent  his  two  sons,  Harold  and  Canute,  with  a 
numerous  following  of  Danes.  They  disembarked 
on  the  shores  of  the  Humber,  and,  joined  by  Edgar 
Atheling  and  his  army,  advanced  to  York,  laying 
waste  the  land  they  passed  through.  To  prevent 
the  enemy  from  fortifying  itself,  the  garrison  fired 
the  houses  in  the  suburbs  ;  but  the  flames  were 
fanned  by  a  strong  wind  into  a  devastating  confla- 
gration, in  the  midst  of  which  the  Danes  entered 
and  put  to  the  sword  the  whole  Norman  garri- 
son. This  slaughter  was  eventually  punished  by 
the  Conqueror,  who,  harbouring  a  suspicion  of 
treachery  on  the  part  of  the  citizens,  reduced 
them  to  his  idea  of  submission  by  burning  the 
city  about  their  ears  and  desolating  the  neighbour- 
ing country  from  the  Humber  to  the  Tyne.  Nev- 
ertheless the  city  gradually  recovered  in  the  two 
succeeding  reigns.  Archbishop  Thomas  endeav- 
oured to  patch  up  the  Cathedral,  but  eventually 
pulled  it  down  and  rebuilt  it.  The  city  continued 
to  advance  in  prosperity  in  spite  of  many  attacks 
from  the  Scots.  In  1088  William  Rufus  laid  the 
first  stone  for  a  large  monastery  for  the  Benedictine 
Order,  which  was  dedicated  to  St.  Mary. 

[386] 


YORK 


MONK     BAR 


YORK 

In  1 1 37,  during  the  reign  of  Stephen,  a  terrible 
fire  broke  out  which  destroyed,  it  is  said,  the 
Cathedral,  the  monastery,  and  some  forty  parish 
churches.  On  the  accession  of  Henry  I.  the  city 
received  its  first  charter  of  incorporation,  whilst  in 
1 175  Henry  II.  held  here  one  of  the  first  meetings 
which  came  to  be  afterwards  called  Parliament.  It 
also  served  as  an  occasion  for  William  of  Scotland 
to  pay  his  homage  to  the  King  in  the  Cathedral. 
In  the  reign  of  Richard  I.  the  fury  of  the  populace 
was  excited  against  the  Jews  for  having  mingled  with 
the  crowd  at  the  Coronation  in  London.  In  spite 
of  a  royal  proclamation  in  their  favour,  they  were 
terribly  persecuted  throughout  the  country,  espe- 
cially in  the  big  towns.  York  was  by  no  means 
behind  the  times  in  1190.  Many  of  the  Jews, 
having  defended  the  castle  in  which  they  had 
taken  refuge,  put  their  own  wives  and  children  to 
death,  and  then  committed  suicide.  Those  who 
did  not  were  cruelly  tortured  to  death  by  the 
Christians.  In  the  meantime  it  is  pleasing  to  note 
that  certain  portions  of  Yorkshire  had  been  re- 
claimed from  its  wild  state  wherever  the  Cistercians 
and  other  orders  of  monks  had  settled.  They 
introduced  sheep-farming,  besides  tilling  the  re- 
claimed wilderness.  The  subsequent  history  of 
York  is  taken  up  with  the  many  visits  of  royalty 

[389] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

and  benefits  conferred,  till  we  get  to  the  year  1 569, 
when  the  Council  of  the  North  was  established, 
after  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  known  as  the 
"  Pilgrimage  of  Grace."  This  was  consequent  on 
the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  the  demolition 
of  ten  parish  churches,  and  the  wholesale  appro- 
priation of  revenues  and  materials  by  Henry  VIII. 
The  principal  leader  was  Robert  Aske,  who,  with 
40,000  men  attended  by  priests  with  sacred  ban- 
ners, seized  this  city  and  Hull.  They  were  soon 
dispersed,  Aske  being  brought  to  York  and  hanged 
upon  Clifford's  Tower.  Though  suppressed  for  a 
time,  public  feeling  broke  out  into  an  insurrec- 
tion during  Elizabeth's  reign  to  restore  Roman 
Catholicism.  It  ended  in  their  discomfiture, 
Thomas  Percy,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  being 
beheaded  at  York  as  the  chief  ringleader,  and  his 
head  stuck  on  the  Micklegate  Bar  as  a  warning 
to  others.  History  records  a  Parliament  held  here 
by  Charles  I.  in  1642,  when  he  promised  to  govern 
legally.  In  fact,  he  seems  to  have  removed  his 
entire  court  here,  or  rather  those  willing  to  follow 
him.  However,  as  all  attempts  at  negotiation  had 
failed,  he  advanced  to  Nottingham  and  there  erected 
his  standard.  After  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor, 
which  is  about  six  miles  out,  York  was  taken  for 
the  Parliament  by  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  in    1644. 

[  390  ] 


YORK 

MICKLEGATE    BAR 


YORK 

After  the  Restoration,  Charles  II.  was  royally 
welcomed.  James  II.  aroused  public  indignation 
by  attempting  to  introduce  Roman  Catholicism  at 
York,  which  only  led  to  the  persecution  of  the 
followers  of  that  religion.  Subsequent  events  have 
been  principally  the  visits  of  royalty.  In  1829 
terrible  consternation  arose  at  the  sight  of  smoke 
issuing  from  the  roof  of  the  Cathedral.  The  act 
was  afterwards  proved  to  have  been  that  of  a  mad- 
man who  had  secreted  himself  for  that  purpose  in 
the  Cathedral  after  the  evening  service  was  over. 
The  whole  of  the  choir  was  gutted  by  the  flames. 
The  Cathedral,  after  Sweyn's  visitation,  had  been 
rebuilt  by  Archbishop  Thomas  of  Bayeux. 

It  was  commenced  in  1070  and  finished  by 
1 1  GO.  Of  this  building  little  now  remains,  it  hav- 
ing been  destroyed  by  an  accidental  fire  in  1 1  37.  It 
remained  in  a  desolate  state  till  Archbishop  Roger 
rebuilt  the  apsidal  choir  and  crypt  (1154-1191). 
To  this  was  added  the  south  transept  by  Arch- 
bishop Walter  de  Grey  (1215— 1255)  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  III.,  whilst  the  north  transept  and  the 
central  tower  were  erected  by  John  le  Romaine, 
who  was  at  that  time  treasurer  of  the  Cathedral. 
The  two  transepts,  besides  the  crypt,  are  the  oldest 
portions  of  the  present  building.  They  belong  to 
the  best  years  of  the  Early  English  style.     The 

[393] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

south    transept    has    a    distinctive    feature    in    its 
magnificent  rose  window,  whilst  the  north  transept 
is  adorned  with  a  series  of  beautiful  worked  lancet 
windows,  known  as  the  Five  Sisters.      The  son  of 
the  treasurer,  who  became  also  Archbishop,  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  nave  about  1290,  which  was 
completed  about  forty  years  later  by  Archbishop 
Melton,  who  also  built  the  west  front  and  the  two 
western  towers.     The  Chapter  House  also  belongs 
to  the  same  period.     In  i  36 1  Archbishop  Thoresby 
commenced  to  erect  the  Lady  Chapel  and  presbytery 
after  the  Early   Perpendicular  style.      He  also  in 
eight  years  completed  the  central  tower,  which  he 
had  taken  down  in  i  370,  whilst  previous  to  this  he 
had  started  to  rebuild  the  choir  in  1361  to  render 
it  more  in  accordance  with  the  character   of  the 
nave,  though  it  was  not  finished  till  about   1400. 
It  is  a  very  fine  example  of  the  Late  Perpendicu- 
lar style.      By  this  time  all  traces  of  the  ancient 
Norman  architecture,  with  the  exception   of  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  crypt  by  Archbishop  Roger, 
which  still   remains,    had    been    eliminated.     To 
keep   in   character   it  was   decided   to   recase   the 
central   tower  and  alter  it    into    a    perpendicular 
tower  with  a  lantern,  which  was    completed    in 
1444.     With  the  erection  of  the  south-west  tower 
in  1432,  and  the  north-west  tower  in    1470,   the 

[394] 


YORK 

church  was  completed,  and  two  years  later  was  re- 
consecrated. Besides  the  fire  of  the  madman  in 
1829,  when  the  woodwork  was  entirely  destroyed, 
another  one  broke  out  in  1840  in  the  south-west 
tower,  reducing  it  to  a  wreck.  Since  then  it  has 
undergone  the  usual  restoration.  The  whole  re- 
sembles a  Latin  cross,  and  constitutes  a  glorious 
minster,  the  beauty  of  which  can  be  more  readily 
appreciated  by  a  glance  at  Mr.  Collins'  work  than 
by  any  amount  of  word-painting.  The  other 
illustrations  give  also  a  faithful  description  of  the 
old  gateways.  They  are  the  four  principal  gates 
or  "bars"  to  the  walls  of  the  city  —  walls  which 
contain  Norman  and  Early  English  work,  but 
principally  belong  to  the  Decorative  style. 
Micklegate  Bar  is  the  south  entrance,  upon  which 
were  exposed  the  heads  of  traitors,  and  is  Norman. 
Monk  Bar  leads  on  to  the  Scarborough  Road,  and 
probably  belongs  to  the  fourteenth  century.  It 
was  formerly  called  Goodramgate,  which  was 
changed  after  the  Restoration  to  Monk  Bar,  in 
honour  of  General  Monk.  Walmgate  Bar  dates 
from  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  and  still  retains  the 
barbican  rebuilt  in  1648,  whilst  Bootham  Bar, 
with  a  Norman  arch,  is  the  main  entrance  from 
the  north.  Stonegate  is  situated  practically  in  the 
heart  of  the  city,  not  far  from  the  minster.      It  is 

[  395  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

a  curious  piece  of  architecture.  York  has  been 
most  happy  with  regard  to  the  birth  of  men  who 
have  distinguished  themselves.  It  has  yielded  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  eight  saints  and  three  cardinals, 
and  to  England  no  less  than  twelve  lord  chancellors, 
two  lord  treasurers  and  lord  presidents  of  the  north. 
But  the  earliest  recorded  birth  of  an  eminent  native 
takes  us  out  of  the  ordinary  ranks  of  men.  If  any 
name  is  well  known  it  is  certainly  that  of  the 
first  Roman  emperor  who  embraced  Christianity. 
He  is  Constantine  the  Great.  Flaccus  Albanus 
was  also  born  here.  He  was  a  pupil  of  the 
great  ecclesiastical  historian,  the  Venerable  Bede. 
Waltheof,  Earl  of  Northumberland  and  son  of 
Siward ;  Thomas  Morton,  in  turn  Bishop  of 
Chester,  Lichfield,  Coventry,  and  Durham,  first 
came  into  the  world  at  York;  whilst  of  more 
recent  times  there  was  Gent,  an  eminent  painter 
and  historian  ;  Swinburn,  a  distinguished  lawver ; 
and  Flaxman,  one  of  England's  most  celebrated 
sculptors,  who  is  perhaps  as  well  known  by  his 
beautiful  designs  for  the  Wedgwood  pottery  as  by 
any  other  work  of  his.  Not  to  know  who  Flaxman 
was  is  almost  as  bad  as  to  admit  ignorance  of  the 
existence  of  Michael  Angelo. 


[396] 


WB.mlftsm 


HIS  ancient  city  on  the  river  Itchen  in 
Hampshire  is  inseparably  bound  with 
William  of  Wykeham.  He  it  was  who 
rebuilt  a  great  part  of  the  magnificent  cathedral 
now  extant,  and  who  founded  the  great  public 
school  of  Winchester,  at  which  so  many  celebrated 
men  have  received  their  education.  These  form 
the  great  attraction  of  the  city,  and  rescue  it  from 
oblivion.  It  is  with  sorrow  we  foresee  that  the 
inevitable  restoration  will  take  place  in  the  east 
end  of  this  venerable  structure.  For  many  years 
past  the  foundations  were  known  to  be  in  an  unsafe 
condition,  but  recently  great  alarm  was  caused  by 
the  appearance  of  large  cracks  in  the  upper  masonry 
and  of  the  bulging  in  of  the  groining  of  the  crypt. 
There  was  no  doubt  that  the  foundations  were 
slowly  subsiding,  and  speculation  was  rife  as  to  the 
cause.  With  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  state  of 
the  foundations,  excavations  were  made.  It  was 
discovered  that  the  original  builders  had  rested  them 
on  marshy  ground,  strengthened  with  oak  piles, 

[397] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

which  have  gradually  decayed  during  the  lapse  of 
centuries.  At  the  same  time  the  presence  of  an 
underground  stream,  thought  to  be  part  of  the 
river  Itchen,  was  seen  to  be  bubbling  up  through 
the  gravel,  saturating  the  upper  soil  of  peat. 

In  much  the  same  way  as  the  site  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  in  London  probably  was  covered,  in  the 
first  instance,  with  buildings  for  pagan  worship,  so 
we  find  that  the  Romans  at  Winchester  erected 
temples  to  Apollo  and  Concord  upon  the  ground 
that  eventually  came  to  be  the  precincts  of  the 
Cathedral.  The  presence  of  a  Christian  church 
appears  to  have  been  in  the  third  century,  when 
the  city  is  said  to  have  become  one  of  the  chief 
centres  of  the  Christian  Britons.  This  first  church, 
however,  was  destroyed  during  the  persecution  of 
Aurelian  and  was  rebuilt  in  293,  to  be  made  a 
wreck  in  495  by  the  Saxons,  who  fired  it.  What 
with  the  religious  convulsion  of  England,  which, 
with  the  exception  of  Kent,  fluctuated  with  the 
rise  and  fall  of  circumstances  chiefly  controlled 
by  the  policy  of  kings  either  heathen  at  one 
time  and  Christian  at  another,  or  the  deposition 
and  death  of  a  Christian  monarch,  caused  by  one 
more  powerful  and  deeply  imbued  with  heathen- 
ism, the  See  of  Winchester  does  not  appear  to 
have    come   into   existence  till  about  the   middle 

[398] 


""^v-        «*&,-SRS!S»"3i:»i.iff-"~ 


WINCHESTER 

THE    NORTH     AISLE 


WINCHESTER 

of  the  seventh  century.  The  establishment  of 
its  bishopric  in  a  way  marks  the  commencement 
of  a  new  epoch  in  the  English   Church. 

The  mission  of  St.  Augustine,  backed  with  the 
royal  countenance  of  Ethelbert,  had,  though  not 
completed,  done  much  towards  conversion ;  but  on 
their  death  practically  the  whole  of  the  Christian 
territory,  excepting  Kent,  relapsed  into  heathenism, 
and  to  such  an  extent  that  Augustine's  successor, 
Laurentius,  was  on  the  point  of  giving  up  the  whole 
mission  and  taking  refuge  in  Gaul.  Not  until  625 
did  a  mission  again  venture  forth  from  the  Kentish 
kingdom,  and  then  their  tentative  efforts  were 
rendered  abortive  by  the  battle  of  Hatfield  in  1633, 
which  for  a  while  seems  to  have  crushed  all  hope 
at  Rome.  But  a  couple  of  years  later  an  independ- 
ent missionary,  Birinus,  was  consecrated  in  Italy, 
and  was  sent  by  the  people  to  make  fresh  attempts 
to  break  down  the  barriers  of  heathenism  in  Eng- 
land. Through  his  influence  Cynegils  became  the 
first  Christian  king  of  the  West  Saxons.  To  in- 
augurate his  conversion  the  monarch  decided  to 
establish  a  bishopric,  and  immediately  began  to 
collect  materials  for  building,  at  his  capital  of  Win- 
chester, a  cathedral,  which  was  eventually  con- 
structed by  his  son  Cenwahl  in  646.  The  Danes 
in  867  broke  up  the  establishment,  and  the  year 

»6  [  401  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

following,  secular  priests  were  substituted.  They 
remained  till  963,  when  Ethelwold,  by  command 
of  King  Edgar,  expelled  them  to  make  room  for 
the  monks  of  the  Benedictine  Order  from  Abendon. 
They  enjoyed  uninterrupted  possession,  and  were 
richly  endowed  with  royal  donations,  as  the  dis- 
solution revealed  the  extent  of  its  revenue.  Henry 
VIII.  then  refounded  it  for  a  bishop,  dean,  chan- 
cellor, twelve  prebendaries,  and  other  subordinate 
officers.  The  Cathedral  was  first  dedicated  to  St. 
Amphibalus,  then  jointly  to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
and  afterwards  to  St.  Swithin,  once  bishop  here. 
With  Henry  VIII. 's  regime  the  title  was  altered  to 
the  Holy  and  undivided  Trinity.  The  church  of 
Cynegils  having  become  entirely  ruined,  a  new 
cathedral  was  commenced  in  1073-98  by  Bishop 
Walkelyn.  The  two  Norman  transepts  and  the 
low  central  tower,  as  also  the  very  early  crypt,  still 
exist.  The  church  is  a  spacious,  massive,  and 
splendid  cruciform  building  of  Norman  architec- 
ture with  subsequent  additions  in  the  Gothic  style. 
The  whole  of  the  Norman  nave  was  demolished 
and  re-erected  on  a  far  grander  scale  by  William 
of  Wykeham  at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
though  not  quite  completed  till  after  his  death. 
The  choir  was  much  restored  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  whilst  it  underwent  considerable  alteration 

[402] 


z;     . 

—      h 


WINCHESTER 

by  Bishop  Fox  from  1510  to  1528.  Here  is  the 
tomb  of  William  H.  A  great  feature  is  the  mag- 
nificent reredos  behind  the  altar.  It  extends  the 
full  width  of  the  choir,  with  two  processional  en- 
trances pierced  through  its  lofty  wall,  and  covered 
with  tier  upon  tier  of  rich  canopied  niches. 
They  once  contained  colossal  statues.  Behind  this 
reredos  there  is  a  second  stone  screen,  which 
enclosed  the  small  chapel  in  which  stood  the 
magnificent  gold  shrine  studded  with  jewels.  It 
contained  the  body  of  St.  Swithin,  and  was  the 
gift  of  King  Edgar.  The  Cathedral,  in  fact,  re- 
ceived at  one  time  and  another  great  treasures 
of  gold  and  jewels  by  many  of  the  early  kings 
of  England.  Canute  is  said  to  have  caused  his 
crown  of  gold  and  gems  to  be  suspended  over 
the  great  crucifix  above  the  high  altar. 

The  magnificent  chantry  of  Cardinal  Beaufort  is 
of  the  Later  style  of  English  architecture.  Bishop 
Waynfleet's  chantry  is  in  the  same  style,  and  has 
been  kept  in  excellent  repair  by  the  trustees  of  his 
foundation  at  Magdalene  College.  Both  chantries 
contain  tombs  of  their  founders.  There  are  sev- 
eral other  chapels,  all  deserving  close  study  of 
their  beautiful  architecture.  The  most  notable  of 
the  many  examples  of  medieval  recumbent  effigies 
are  those  of  the  monuments  to  Bishops  Edingdon, 

[405  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Wykeham,  Langton,  and  Fox.     The  famous  au- 
thoress, Jane  Austen,  is  buried  here. 

The  black  marble  font  is  an  interesting  relic  of 
eleventh-century  skill.  The  sides  are  composed 
of  scenes  taken  from  the  life  of  St.  Nicholas. 
The  Cathedral,  situated  in  an  open  space  near  the 
centre  of  the  city  towards  the  south-east,  is  a  marvel- 
lous combination  of  beauty  and  dignity,  surpassed, 
if  at  all,  by  few.  It  is  the  central  feature  of  Win- 
chester, and  will  always  command  the  greatest 
admiration.  One  of  England's  great  public  schools 
is  that  founded  by  William  of  Wykeham  and 
built  between  1387  and  1393.  The  foundation 
originally  consisted  of  a  warden,  ten  fellows,  three 
chaplains,  seventy  scholars,  and  sixteen  choristers. 
The  prelate  had  previously  established  a  school 
here  in  1373.  Thus  the  oldest  of  England's  great 
schools  was  called  "  Seinte  Marie  College  of  Wyn- 
chester,"  the  charter  of  which  was  dated  October 
1382.  The  ancient  statutes  were  revived  in  1855, 
and  were  still  further  influenced  by  the  Public 
Schools  Act  of  1868.  The  establishment  has  a 
fine  chapel,  hall,  cloister,  and  other  necessary  build- 
ings, all  in  excellent  preservation.  Another  inter- 
esting structure  is  that  afforded  by  the  hospital  of 
St.  Cross,  founded  in  11 36  by  Henry  de  Blois, 
Bishop  of  Winchester.      It  lies  about  a  mile  out  of 

[406] 


WINCHESTER 


FROM     THE     DEANERY    GARDEN 


WINCHESTER 

town.  Its  general  plan  can  be  readily  seen  by  a 
glance  at  Mr.  Collins'  drawing.  Henry  de  Blois 
intended  it  to  provide  board  and  lodging  for  thir- 
teen poor  men,  and  a  daily  dinner  for  one  hundred 
others.  It  was  mostly  rebuilt  by  Cardinal  Beau- 
fort between  1405  and  1447.  The  whole  has 
undergone  much  restoration,  which  was  not  en- 
tirely happy,  though  it  has  certainly  kept  the 
buildings  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  On  the 
precincts  is  also  the  very  stately  cruciform  chapel, 
dating  roughly  from  the  year  11  80.  The  city  of 
Winchester  was  at  one  time  proverbial  for  its  splen- 
dour, which  was  owing  to  the  many  kings  that 
preferred  to  reside  within  its  walls  than  elsewhere. 
Mainly  owing  to  its  central  position  on  the  high 
roads  in  the  south  of  England,  Winchester  was 
from  early  times  a  town  of  great  importance.  This 
Hampshire  city  is  first  ascribed  to  the  Celtic 
Britons,  who  settled  here  in  392  b.  c,  having 
emigrated  from  the  coasts  of  Armorica  in  Gaul. 
They  remained  in  undisturbed  possession  till  within 
a  century  prior  to  the  Christian  era,  when  they 
were  expelled  by  the  Belgae,  who  advanced  from 
their  settlements  on  the  southern  coasts  into  the 
interior.  Soon  after  it  had  become  the  capital  of 
the  Belgs,  the  settlement  passed  into  Roman  oc- 
cupation.    The  Coer  Gwent  (White  City)  of  the 

[409  ] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Britons  became  the  Venta  Belgarum  of  the  Romans. 
The  Roman  word  Venta  eventually  became  trans- 
formed to  "  Winte,"  "  Winte-ceaster,"  from  which 
was  derived  Winchester.  Under  Cedric,  about 
520  A.  D.,  it  became  the  capital  of  the  West  Saxons, 
and  of  England  in  827  by  Egbert.  He  had  ob- 
tained the  sovereignty  of  all  the  other  kingdoms 
of  the  Octarchy,  and  was  crowned  sole  monarch 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Winchester.  On  this  occasion 
the  monarch  published  an  edict  commanding  all 
his  subjects  throughout  his  dominions  to  be  called 
English.  The  union  of  the  kingdoms  gave  that 
importance  to  Winchester  which  it  had  never  had 
previously,  and  the  fact  of  being  not  only  the 
capital  of  Wessex,  but  the  metropolis  of  England, 
caused  it  to  leap  into  great  prominence.  This 
state,  however,  suffered  a  severe  check  when 
London,  in  the  reign  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
began  to  rival  it,  and  was  brought  almost  to  the 
verge  of  ruin  through  the  dissolution  of  the 
monasteries  by  Henry  VIII.  However,  at  differ- 
ent periods,  Winchester  received  much  unwelcome 
discomfiture.  It  was  seized  by  the  Danes  in  871  ; 
whilst  in  1013  it  was  ravaged  by  Sweyn  on  his 
path  of  vengeance.  In  i  100  the  body  of  William 
Rufus  was  solemnly  interred  in  the  Cathedral. 
During  the  parliamentary  war  the  city  was  taken 

[410] 


WINCHESTER 

and  retaken  by  Cromwell,  and  the  castle  dis- 
mantled. Here  it  was  that  Charles  I.  commis- 
sioned Wren  to  build  a  palace  in  1683,  which  was 
only  begun.  Previous  to  this  the  plague  of  1666 
greatly  reduced  the  number  of  inhabitants,  and  it 
was  possibly  to  help  the  city  recover  itself  that 
Charles  thought  of  building  a  palace. 

Though  the  great  regal  prosperity  has  long  since 
departed,  the  many  old  houses  and  the  great  extent 
of  the  city  still  bear  testimony  to  the  once  great 
importance  of  Winchester., 


[413J 


l^estminster 

OF  the  three  cathedrals  in  London,  West- 
minster Abbey  may  be  said  to  possess  the 
greatest  charms.  Compared  to  it  St.  Paul's 
is  a  new  church,  whilst  St.  Saviour's,  Southwark, 
is  little  known.  It  is  true  that  the  foundation  of 
St.  Paul's  is  coeval  with  that  of  the  Abbey, 
and  St.  Saviour's  is  an  old  church,  but  St.  Paul's 
dates  from  the  Great  Fire  of  London,  and  the 
merit  of  its  architecture  is  the  wonderful  genius 
of  Wren.  In  more  ways  than  one  Westminster 
is  bound  up  with  the  history  of  the  great  empire. 
Within  her  precincts  repose  the  greater  number 
of  reigning  heads  who  inaugurated  their  reigns 
in  the  sacred  interior  with  the  coronation,  a  cere- 
mony which  was  last  performed  when  our  pres- 
ent king  came  to  the  throne,  though  the  last 
monarch  to  be  laid  to  rest  in  the  venerable  pile 
ceased  with  the  interment  of  King  George  II. 
in    1760. 

The  Abbey  is  also  the  favourite  sepulture  for 
eminent  statesmen,  poets,  authors,  and  great  travel- 

[4>4  ] 


WESTiMINSTER 

lers,  —  men  whose  intellects  have  done  far  more 
for  the  wonderful  rise  of  Great  Britain  than  the 
average  crowned  head,  men  whose  ability  and 
personality  in  many  cases  were  little  understood 
during  life,  preyed  upon,  as  is  often  the  case,  by 
others  who  could  turn  it  to  good  pecuniary 
account.  But  when  death  claims  them,  the  nation, 
sensible  of  their  loss,  pay  homage  by  interring 
the  remains  in  the  noble  sepulchre  of  a  cathedral, 
or  perpetuate  the  memory  by  an  epitaph  on  the 
wall. 

To  wander  around  the  Poets'  Corner  along  the 
echoing  aisles,  and  stand  in  front  of  each  memorial 
and  read  off  the  few  cold  lines  that  seem  a 
mockery  to  regard  as  a  record  of  some  mighty 
intellect,  serve  only  to  awaken  the  imagination 
and  to  recall  their  sad  biographies  read  at  one  time 
or  another.  Were  Chaucer,  Shakespeare,  Spenser, 
Dryden,  Milton,  Oliver  Goldsmith,  Handel,  Thack- 
eray, David  Garrick,  to  mention  only  a  few,  ever 
made  peers,  much  less  knights  ?  No  ;  yet  many  of 
their  contemporaries  of  inferior  intellect  enjoyed 
such  worldly  distinction.  To  stand  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  great  dead,  or  in  lieu  to  read  their 
epitaphs,  casts  a  great  fascination  over  the  mind, 
and  makes  one  linger  within  the  precincts  of  the 
historic  abbey  till  a  rude  awakening  comes  from 

[415] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

the  verger  that  it  is  closing-time.  With  a  sigh 
we  emerge  from  the  great  mausoleum  into  the 
hard,  glaring  daylight,  for  a  few  seconds  dazed. 
The  fascination  still  clings  to  us,  and  when  we  get 
home  we  are  eager  to  consult  authorities  and  learn 
more  of  the  beautiful  church  at  Westminster. 

The  Abbey,  like  nearly  all  our  great  cathedrals, 

is  the  growth  of  centuries.      Looking   at  it  under 

present-day    conditions,     we     can    hardly     realise 

that  in  the  dim  past  the  site  was  an  island  of  dry 

sand  and  gravel,  bound   on   the  one  side   by   the 

river  Thames,  and  on  the  other  by  marshes  watered 

by  the  little  stream  called  the  Eye.     This  stream 

still  runs,  though  out  of  sight,  under  New  Bond 

Street,  the  Green  Park,  and  Buckingham  Palace, 

to  empty  itself  into   the   Thames   near  Vauxhall 

Bridge,  and  has  lent  its  name  to  Tyburn  (Th'  Eye 

Burn).      In  the  early  years  of  the  seventh  century, 

possibly  within  a  few  months  of  his  restoring  the 

church  on  the  site  of  St.  Paul's,  which  would  take 

us  back  to  about  the  year  6io,  Sebert,  the  King  of 

the  East  Saxons,  decided  to  build  a  church  to  the 

honour  of  St.  Peter  on  this  Isle  of  Thorns,  or,  as  it 

is  sometimes  called,  Thorney  Island.      The  fact  of 

the  vicinity  being  westward  of  the  neighbouring 

hill  of  St.  Paul's  eventually  gave  rise  to  the  name 

of  Westminster.     According  to  tradition,  on   the 

[41M 


WESTMINSTER 

eve  of  the  new  church  being  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Mellitus,  the  boatman  Edric,  whilst  attending  to 
his  nets  by  the  bank  of  the  island,  was  attracted  by 
a  gleaming  light  on  the  opposite  shore.  Rowing 
across,  he  found  a  venerable  man,  who  desired  to 
be  ferried  over.  On  landing  at  the  island,  the 
mysterious  stranger  proceeded  towards  the  church, 
accompanied  by  a  host  of  angels,  who  gave  him 
light  by  candles  as  he  went  through  the  forms  of 
church  consecration.  On  his  return  to  the  boat, 
the  old  man  bade  Edric  tell  Mellitus  that  St.  Peter 
had  come  in  person  to  consecrate  the  church,  and 
promised  him  that  fish  would  always  come  plenti- 
fully to  his  nets,  provided  he  did  not  work  on  a 
Sunday  and  did  not  forget  to  offer  a  tithe  of  that 
which  he  caught  to  the  Abbey  of  Westminster. 
On  the  morrow,  Mellitus,  hearing  the  fisherman's 
story,  confirmed  by  the  marks  of  consecration  in  the 
chrism,  the  crosses  on  the  doors,  and  the  droppings 
from  the  candles  of  the  angels,  acknowledged  the 
work  of  St.  Peter  as  sufficient  consecration,  and 
changed  the  name  from  Thorney  Island  to  West- 
minster, to  distinguish  it  as  being  to  the  west 
of  the  city  of  London  and  to  the  Church  of 
St.  Paul's  on  the  neighbouring  hill.  However 
incredible  Edric's  story  may  be  it  bore  fruit,  in 
that   till    1382   a  tithe  of  fish  was  paid    by    the 

[417] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Thames  fisherman  to  the  Abbey,  in  exchange  for 
which  the  bearer  had  the  privilege  to  sit,  on  that 
day,  at  the  Abbot's  table,  and  to  ask  for  bread  and 
ale  from  the  cellarman.  By  degrees  the  neigh- 
bourhood became  peopled,  partly  on  account  of  the 
church  and  partly  from  the  erection  of  a  palace 
close  to  it,  which  led  the  nobility  to  build  houses 
in  the  vicinity.  The  Abbey,  becoming  ruinous 
through  the  Danes,  was  rebuilt  by  Edward  the 
Confessor  as  the  "  Collegiate  Church  of  St. 
Peter  at  Westminster."  In  fact  this  monarch 
is  usually  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  Church. 
According  to  Matthew  Paris,  it  was  the  first 
cruciform  church  erected  in  England,  the  immense 
size  and  beauty  of  which  can  be  seen  in  the  Bayeux 
tapestry.  The  foundation  was  laid  somewhere 
about  1052,  and  the  church  was  consecrated  in 
1065,  a  few  days  prior  to  the  Confessor's  death. 
The  monastery  was  filled  with  monks  from  Exeter, 
whilst  Pope  Nicholas  II.  constituted  the  Abbey 
for  the  inauguration  of  the  kings  of  England. 
Throughout  the  succession  of  reigning  heads, 
Edward  V.,  who  died  uncrowned,  was  the  only 
exception. 

Of  the  Confessor's  church  and  monastery  the 
only  remains  appear  to  be  the  Chapel  of  the  Pyx, 
the  lower  part  of  the   refectory  below  the  West- 

[418] 


c 

Q 
O 


WESTMINSTER 

minster  schoolroom,  a  portion  of  the  dormitory, 
and  the  walls  of  the  south  cloister. 

The  Abbey,  with  these  few  exceptions,  was 
demolished  and  rebuilt  on  a  magnificent  scale  by 
Henry  III.  between  1220  and  1269.  The  material 
employed  was  first  a  green  stone  and  afterwards 
Caen  stone.  The  portions  that  remain  to  us  from 
that  rebuilding  are  the  Confessor's  chapel,  the  side 
aisles  and  their  chapels,  and  the  choir  and  transepts, 
all  beautiful  examples  of  the  Geometrical  Pointed 
period  of  architecture.  Henry's  work  was  con- 
tinued by  his  son  Edward  I.,  who  added  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  nave  after  the  same  style;  it 
was  afterwards  carried  on  by  successive  abbots  till 
the  erection  of  the  great  west  window  by  Abbot 
Estney  in  1498.  The  College  Hall,  the  Abbot's 
House,  Jerusalem  Chamber,  and  part  of  the 
cloisters  had  also  in  the  meantime  been  added  by 
Abbot  Littlington  in  1380.  Amongst  various  im- 
provements Henry  VII.  built  the  west  end  of  the 
nave,  his  own  chapel,  the  deanery,  and  portions 
of  the  cloisters  in  the  Perpendicular  style. 

The  choir,  a  fine  specimen  of  Early  English 
with  decorations  added  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
is  where  the  coronation  of  English  sovereigns 
takes  place,  and  contains  the  tombs  of  Sebert, 
King  of  the   East   Angles,   Anne  of  Cleves,  and 

[421] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Edmund  Crouchback,  Earl  of  Leicester.  Henry 
^TI.'s  chapel  displays  the  architect's  skill  to  per- 
fection, with  the  wonderful  fretted  work  of  the 
roof  and  the  graceful  fan-tracery.  It  contains 
the  glorious  tomb  of  Henry  VII.,  the  work  of  the 
great  sculptor  Pietro  Torrigiano.  It  is  composed 
chiefly  of  black  marble  with  figures  and  pilasters 
of  gilt  copper.  The  figures  once  wore  crowns,  but 
some  sacrile2:ious  hands  have  stolen  them.  In  the 
chapel  of  Edward  the  Confessor  are  the  shrine  of 
Edward  the  Confessor  in  Purbeck  marble,  the 
altar-tomb  of  Edward  I.,  the  coronation  chairs  of 
the  English  sovereigns,  besides  the  stone  of  Scone, 
the  old  coronation  seat  of  the  Scottish  kings.  The 
beautiful  chapels  of  St.  Benedict,  St.  Edmund,  St. 
Nicholas,  St.  Paul,  St.  Erasmus,  and  St.  John  the 
Baptist  chiefly  contain  the  monuments  of  ecclesias- 
tics and  nobility. 

The  entrance  generally  used  is  the  North  Porch, 
known  as  Solomon's  Porch.  It  was  erected  in 
the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  but  entirely  changed  its 
character  in  the  hands  of  Wren,  who  appears  not 
to  have  appreciated  the  beauties  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture. The  same  architect  is  said  to  have  built 
the  two  western  towers,  though  they  are  sometimes 
ascribed  to  his  pupil  Haw]^«^moor.  Wren's  work 
upon   the  north   porch   was   again   altered   by   Sir 

[422] 


WESTMINSTER 

G.   G.   Scott,   who    introduced   the    present   triple 
portico.      On    passing   under   it   we   come   to   the 
north  transept,  generally  known  as  the  Statesmen's 
Aisle.      Here  in  the  same  grave  lie  the  Earl  of 
Chatham  and  his  famous  son,  William  Pitt.     Close 
to  them  are  either   the  graves  or  monuments  of 
Fox,   Castlereagh,  Grattan,   Palmerston,  Peel,  the 
three  Cannings,  and  Disraeli.     Right  in  the  centre 
of  the  aisle  is  a  slab  marking  the  resting-place  of 
W.  E.  Gladstone  and  his  wife  (1898  and   1900), 
ever  whom  unconsciously  the  people  tread,  gradually 
wearincr  out  the  simple  w^ords  of  memorial.     The 
south  transept  is  the  Poets'  Corner,  containing  the 
memorials  from  Chaucer  to  Ruskin.      In  the  nave 
lie   David   Livingstone  (1873),  a  great  missionary 
and     traveller,    whose     remains     were     reverently 
brought  from  Central  Africa  :    Robert  Stephenson 
(1859),  the  famous  engineer;    Sir   Charles  Barry 
(i860 1,   architect   ot   the    Houses   of  Parliament; 
Sir   G.   G.   Scott  (1S73);   George  Edmund  Street 
(18S11,    architect    of    the     Law    Courts;     Colin 
Campbell;    Lord   Clyde    11S63  ,   who  recaptured 
Lucknow.      We  have  mentioned  these  names,  not 
for  the  sake  of  invidiousness,  but  have  chosen  them 

at  random. 

Leading  from   the  cloisters  up  a  flight  of  stone 
steps  is  the  Chapter   House.     The  original  struc- 

[423] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

ture  was  built  by  King  Edward  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  it  is  noticeable  in  that  it  departed 
from  the  usual  Benedictine  form.  In  1250  it  was 
rebuilt  by  Henry  III.,  and  is  an  octagonal  struc- 
ture, second  only  to  that  at  Lincoln  in  size.  Here 
the  monks  were  accustomed  once  a  week  to  hold 
their  chapters.  In  ornamental  stalls  opposite  the 
entrance  the  Abbot  and  his  four  chief  officers  were 
enthroned,  whilst  the  monks  ranged  themselves 
along  the  stone  benches  which  go  around  the 
walls.  Criminals  were  tried,  and  if  found  guilty 
were  tied  up  to  the  central  pillar  of  Purbeck 
marble  (thirty-five  feet  high)  and  were  flogged  pub- 
licly. The  monks,  however,  were  not  left  in  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  Chapter  House,  for  on  the 
separation  of  the  Houses  of  Lords  and  Commons 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  the  House  of  Commons 
held  sittings  here  and  continued  to  do  so  till 
1547.  The  last  parliament  held  here  was  on  the 
day  that  Henry  VIII.  died,  when  it  sat  to  discuss 
the  Act  of  Attainder  passed  upon  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk.  At  the  dissolution  of  the  monastery 
the  Chapter  House  passed  to  the  Crown,  and 
seven  years  afterwards  the  House  of  Commons 
removed  to  St.  Stephen's  Chapel  in  the  Palace  of 
Westminster. 

From  that  time  the  Chapter  House  was  used  as 

[424  ] 


WESTMINSTER 

a  Record  Office  till  the  removal  of  the  records  In 
1865  to  the  Rolls  House. 

There  are  now  two  or  three  glass  cases  filled 
with  interesting  ancient  deeds  and  illuminated 
parchments  relating  to  the  history  of  the  Abbey. 
Adjoining  the  Abbey  is  the  great  public  school  of 
Westminster,  or  St.  Peter's  College  as  it  was  called 
when  founded  by  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1560  for  the 
education  of  forty  boys,  denominated  the  Queen's 
scholars,  and  prepared  for  the  university.  Since 
then  the  numbers  have  greatly  increased,  and  to 
have  been  educated  there  is  something  to  boast  of, 
for  it  is  so  much  sought  after  that  preference  is 
given  to  the  sons  of  old  Westminster  boys.  We 
might  go  on  for  ever,  so  vast  is  the  subject-matter, 
but  before  closing  we  would  draw  attention  to 
St.  Margaret's  Church,  which  stands  in  front  of 
Solomon's  Porch.  It  was  founded  by  the  Con- 
fessor, and  is  the  especial  church  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  Curiously  enough,  it  gives  scale 
to  the  whole  Abbey.  The  Houses  of  Parliament 
are  across  the  road  to  the  east  of  the  Abbey  and 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  Thames.  In  the  Tudor 
style  Sir  Charles  Barry,  R.A.,  built  the  New 
Palace  of  Westminster,  containing  the  two  Houses 
of  Parliament  (i 840-1 859).  It  is  a  stupendous 
work  and  a  marvellous  mass  of  rich  architecture. 

[425] 


CATHEDRAL    CITIES 

Some  authority  states  that  the  clock  tower  is  much 
after  the  style  of  the  belfry  at  Bruges.  This  state- 
ment, we  would  point  out,  is  hardly  correct.  The 
two  no  more  resemble  each  other  than  do  black 
and  white. 

How  is  it  possible  to  describe  in  a  few  cold 
words  the  wonderful  beauties  that  lie  hidden  in 
the  architecture  of  the  Abbey,  the  best  artistic 
expressions  of  its  several  architects  ?  Impressions 
created  depend  upon  the  temperament  of  the  in- 
dividual who  gazes  upon  them.  All  acknowledge 
the  great  beauty,  but  each  from  his  own  standpoint, 
according  to  his  tastes  and  inclinations,  which  are 
moulded  by  his  pursuits  in  life,  or  more  rarely 
endowed  by  that  inherent  sense  of  all  that  is  noble 
and  refined  he  is  enabled  to  sink  his  own  individ- 
uality for  a  moment,  and  to  enjoy  the  brain- 
product  of  a  fellow-being.  To  the  dull  intellect 
the  Abbey  appeals  as  a  mystery ;  to  the  commer- 
cial man  it  represents  so  much  outlay  of  capital, 
and  a  proud  possession  of  the  empire's  city ;  to 
the  poet  and  artist  the  memorials  must  recall  the 
wonderful  lines  of  Longfellow  : 

"  Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime  " ; 

to  the  architect  a  marvellous  insight  into  the  great 
possibilities  offered  by  architecture  ;  to  the  musician 

[426] 


WESTMINSTER 

the  ambition  to  create  a  great  composition  that 
will  be  worthy  to  echo  throughout  the  lofty  and 
beautiful  aisles,  whose  music  is  so  unconsciously 
based  upon  those  laws  of  harmony  which  should 
exist  in  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  and 
literature. 


[427] 


I 


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